Timeline of Fate
by TypeMoonFreak
Summary: In an unforeseen accident, Shirou is transported through space and time back to Medieval England in the time of King Arthur's rule. Regarded at first as an outcast and a potential threat, Shirou must learn to live and fight if he is to survive in this unfamiliar time period as well as attempt to find a way back to Fuyuki City.
1. Chapter 1

ACT I - Sunshine and Whispers

"Senpai? Senpai? Are you awake Senpai?" A girl's voice called out through the dusty old shed to the young man sleeping on the cold concrete floor surrounded by various kinds of tools and old electronics. The shed was small and had little room for much of anything, yet it had a single small, square window, and the bright sunlight was shining in.

The girl's name was Sakura, and she had been coming over to his house for a couple of years now in the mornings and evenings. He had gotten hurt and couldn't work, so she ended up taking care of him. Eventually he got better, and instead of kicking her out their relationship stuck. Now she was at his home just about every day, helping him out. It didn't happen too often, but occasionally she had to wake him up from sleeping in the old shed in his yard where he liked to mess with junk.

The young man opened his eyes and sat up after seeing her. "Good morning Sakura. Sorry about that, I guess I ended up sleeping in." He scratched the back of his head and grinned. His name was Emiya Shirou, a normal high school student except for the fact that his father was a Magus.

When he was very young, his family was killed in a large fire in Fuyuki City even Shirou himself was near death. His life was saved by a man named Emiya Kiritsugu who ended up adopting him and raising him. His father never taught him any magic, saying all it brought was trouble on those who used it. However he did teach Shirou a technique called "Strengthening" and taught him a mediation technique to create a Magic Circuit in his body. It was very painful, and if gotten wrong could cost Shirou his life. For that reason Kiritsugu didn't like Shirou using it, but Shirou kept asking his father to teach him magic anyway.

Shirou looked up to his father, wanted to be like him and save someone.

_"Shirou, saving people isn't always the easiest thing to do. You're often made to make difficult decisions."_ His father once told him on a warm summer night.

_"Like what Dad?"_

_"Saving one person generally means you're not able to save another. That's why I gave up."_ With a sad voice his father answered and looked up at the moon which hung brightly in the night sky.

_"I'll do it for you!" _He said with wide eyes and looked up at his father. _"Yeah! I'll save people, I'll save everyone! Just like you saved me!"_

His father chuckled and patted his head. _"I'm sure you will son."_ He said with a bright smile.

A few years later Kiritsugu Emiya passed away, leaving Shirou his house and everything else he had. He never forgot the promise he made that day, and lived it every day. These days he was just a normal High School student with a part time job living life every day as he should.

"Shirou~ were you sleeping late again?" Another woman sitting at his breakfast table already eating a bowl of rice greeted him after he'd washed his face and gotten dressed. This loud woman was his homeroom teacher by the name of Fujimura Taiga. After his father died Fujimura practically raised him, now that he was old enough to take care of himself she just stopped by for meals much like Sakura did.

"Sakura you're going to spoil him if you let him take advantage of you like that." Fujimura pointed her chopsticks at Sakura as Shirou sat down

"I'm not spoiling him." Sakura said matter-of-factly as she filled a bowl of rice for Shirou and handed it to him. "Senpai works very hard every day, if something like this happens once in awhile I don't mind cooking breakfast on my own."

Shirou and Sakura normally cooked together. In fact Shirou was the one that taught her how to do it, over time she'd improved and was now almost as good as he was. Now the two of them cook meals together all the time and Shirou could tell she always looked forward to it.

"Fuji-nee won't you be late if you stick around much longer?" Shirou raised an eyebrow at her once the three of them finished breakfast. Until now she'd been relaxing and watching the news on television.

"Uwaa! You're right!" She exclaimed. "Sakura, are you ready to go?" She turned around and asked.

Sakura had been washing the dishes with Shirou when she turned around. Shirou looked over at her and nodded. "Go on ahead. I'll finish up here, besides you have club this morning right?"

"Um, sorry Senpai. I'm going ahead then." She waved and headed towards the door.

"Yeah, say hi to Mitsuzuri for me." Shirou waved the two of them off. Sakura was a member of the school's Archery club along with Fuji-nee and another friend of his by the name of Mitsuzuri Ayako. Shirou also used to be a member of the Archery Club, but after his accident he was forced to quit. Since then he's never gone back even though Sakura, Ayako, and Fuji-nee often pressured him to. Another one of his friends and Sakura's brother Matou Shinji who was captain of the Archery team looked down on Shirou for quitting. He and Shirou had an odd friendship, one person looking from the outside would never be able to tell.

Shirou was the last one out of the house. The house his father left him was almost as large as a hotel. The grounds were walled off separating the Japanese style house from the rest of the world by a small gate leading to the street. Throwing his bag over his shoulder he began to walk. It would take him about a half hour to get there, he would have to go through the district with the western houses and go by the old church to get to his high school. It was a beautiful spring morning, the sun was shining and there was a cool wind blowing. Shirou took a big lungful of air and enjoyed it, walking through the school's gates with a smile.

"Ah, Emiya you're here. Can I speak with you for a moment before class starts?" A student wearing glasses asked. His name was Ryuudo Issei, head of the student council and eventually will be head of the local temple. Well respected and also popular with the girls, though he himself didn't seem to have any particular girl he liked.

"Yeah sure, what's up Issei?" Shirou ducked out of the traffic in the hallway.

"I need some assistance from you at lunchtime. Do you have any plans today?" He asked while pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

Shirou thought for a moment and shook his head. "Not really."

"Then if I'm not intruding I would like you to join me in the Student Council room." He asked politely.

Shirou nodded. "Sure, I don't mind. If that's all I'd better get to class." Shirou jerked his thumb towards his class.

"Yes, you are correct forgive me. Of all classes you should not be late to Fujimura-sensei's. I would not be a very good friend if I made you late." Issei said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, I'll see you at lunch Issei." Shirou turned and left him, heading to homeroom.

Shirou headed into the classroom and took his seat by the window. Luckily Fuji-nee wasn't there yet, she normally arrived at the very last minute. Especially since she often had business with the Archery Club before classes started. The classroom was still noisy and there were a couple minutes before class was starting, so Shirou could still hear the idle banter of the other students.

"Have you heard? Tohsaka is absent again today."

"Tohsaka? You mean THAT Tohsaka?"

"Idiot is there another Tohsaka around here? The school idol, every man's dream. Beautiful, intelligent, and a great body to boot, Tohsaka Rin."

"No way, she's gone again today too?"

"Yeah I heard from someone in her class."

"That's almost a week now right? The teachers haven't heard a word from her."

"You think she's sick or something? I hope she's alright."

The talk went on like that. Normally something like that wouldn't even be mentioned. But the school idol Tohsaka Rin had near perfect attendance, what's more her homework was piling up. Tohsaka Rin had exemplary marks in school and she even had a small fan club building within the school. Naturally something as drastic as that was being talked about almost constantly, even by the teachers who were starting to become concerned.

The clock ticked and just as predicted Fujimura-sensei came barging in through the door with the grace of an angry rhino but with the energy of a squirrel after five cups of coffee. "Good morning everyone~!" She waved and greeted everyone as she slid to her desk in the front of the room. Despite how she was normally, Fujimura was actually a very good teacher, she kept her students in line and they respected her, even coming to her for advice.

Finally it was time for lunch and Shirou's appointment with Issei in the Student Council room. He grabbed his lunchbox and headed into the hallway where there were quite a few people heading towards the cafeteria. Luckily he was invited to somewhere quiet where he could enjoy his lunch.

Upon going up the stairs he ran into someone. "Yo, Emiya." Matou Shinji greeted him.

"Hey Shinji, you going out for lunch?" Shirou asked, squeezing into the hallway to let a couple girls go by.

Shinji smirked. "Yeah, the food here is too low-class so I thought I would take a couple of my underclassmen out to a nice place by the park. Why don't you come with us Emiya?" He asked. Naturally these underclassmen would be girls. Shinji was rarely seen walking around without a few of the younger girls behind him.

"Maybe next time, Issei said he had something he wanted to talk to me about." No doubt Shinji would try to set him up with one of his girls, Shirou would rather not have anything to do with that.

"Is Ryuudo asking you to be his workhorse and fix something again?" Shinji put his hands on his hips and frowned, clearly not used to being turned down.

Shirou shrugged. "I'm not sure, he just said he had something to talk to me about."

"Just keep in mind you're not in the Student Council, you shouldn't be spending so much time with Ryuudo. Later Emiya." Shinji walked passed him and continued down the stairs.

Shirou turned back up the stairs and headed towards his destination. He opened the door and was greeted by Issei who was already sitting down and eating. He looked up from his rice and set his chopsticks down. "Emiya, thank you for coming. Would you like some tea?" He asked. The Student Council room had a coffee maker as well as a teapot in it, Shirou often came here to eat with Issei and enjoy a cup of tea with lunch. It also wasn't rare to find Fujimura-sensei or even Kuzuki-sensei in here.

"Yeah, thanks." Shirou poured himself a cup of tea and sat down to open his lunchbox. "So what's this about?"

Issei looked at Shirou's lunchbox and saw there was a meatball in it. His own lunch had no meat in it, due to his father having strange tastes. "Before that, may I?" He asked, picking up his chopsticks again.

Shirou nodded. "Go ahead."

Issei offered a bow in thanks, grabbed one of the meatballs and popped it into his mouth. "Thank you." Issei finished eating it and cleared his throat. "You're aware of Miss Tohsaka being absent are you not?" He asked and leaned forward.

Shirou nodded again. "Yeah, it's hard to go anywhere without hearing about it. It's pretty unlike her isn't it?"

"Yes, as much as I do not care for her even I am starting to get a bit concerned. Before she had perfect attendance until now. The teachers have received no word from her at all and even her friends are starting to become worried." Issei said seriously. It was unsure where it came from, but nearly everyone knew that Issei Ryuudo and Tohsaka Rin were enemies and did not care for each other at all. Tohsaka always remained civil with Issei was around, but Issei never hid his dislike for her and didn't hesitate to let everyone know how evil he thought she was. However being the school idol no one ever listened to him.

"What does this have to do with me?" Shirou was quite confused. It wasn't like there was anything he could do to bring her back.

"As you can imagine, her work has been piling up." Issei continued. "Missing nearly seven days in a row is quite a lot of work. If she doesn't complete it she may not be able to save her grade, and she could be held back next year." He spoke as if this was the worst possible thing that could ever happen.

Shirou was still confused, but if it was Issei surely there was some reason behind it. He was sure he would explain so he just sat quietly and listened.

"I've already asked Mitsuzuri to do it, but unfortunately she has no time. Fortunately though, you have to pass by Tohsaka's house on your way home so Fujimura-sensei suggested that you do it." Issei said.

"Do what Issei?" Shirou asked cluelessly.

"Take Tohsaka's homework to her. Unfortunately she lives alone in that huge house, so there's no one we can call to come pick it up for her." Issei leaned forward and scooped some rice into his mouth.

"Wait a minute, why me? Surely one of her classmates..."

"We've asked them. It seems you're our last option. Even Kuzuki-sensei okay'd it." Issei heaved a sigh.

"What about Shinji? I'm sure he'd jump on the chance to go visit her house."

Issei shook his head. ""I have better things to do than be your errand boy, Ryuudo." Were his exact words."

"But to go to a girl's house is..."

"I understand your situation Emiya, but Fujimura-sensei assured me that it would be good for you." Issei sat back and crossed his arms.

Shirou sighed. "That Fuji-nee.." He growled at someone who wasn't there.

"Emiya, as much as I wouldn't mind to see that woman taken down a peg because of this, the rest of the school would become a post apocalyptic wasteland if something happened to her. As the President I can't allow that." Issei put down his chopsticks as he finished his lunch.

"Alright. I'll do what I can." Shirou looked down at his lunch, suddenly he wasn't that hungry anymore.

Issei smiled. "Thank you, I'll tell the rest of the teachers to bring Tohsaka's work by here and you can pick it up when classes are over. Is that alright?"

Shirou nodded. "Yeah that's fine." He was still unsure about all this. From what he'd heard Tohsaka had little interest in any of the male students that approached her, denying each and every person that had ever asked her out. It wouldn't be a surprise to learn that every guy had his sights set on Tohsaka. Even Shirou would be a liar if he said he wasn't attracted to her at all. To get an opportunity to go to her house was something that every guy in the school would kill for. He would have to be very careful or he could make a lot of enemies doing something like this.

Still if he could keep Tohsaka from being held back a grade then surely that would be worth something. Shirou was also curious as to what was going on, there should be no reason to not let the school know if she was going to be absent. This also might be a good opportunity to get closer to her. He talked with her a couple times as they passed in the hallways, but their relationship never passed beyond that.

Without meaning to Shirou had managed to put himself into a good mood. He walked back to his classroom after finishing lunch with Issei to Kuzuki-sensei's class. He had something to look forward to, it seems that after he agreed to help Issei out that his hesitation went away. After all, he didn't have to go inside, he just had to go to the door and give her work back to her. "Yeah, I can do that." He smiled to himself and stared out the window.


	2. Portal

ACT II - Portal

Classes ended for the day and Shirou couldn't stop thinking about his promise to Issei. He heaved a sigh and put his things away as he prepared to go pick up Tohsaka's work from the student council room. He found it odd that the teachers would approve of a student not in Tohsaka's class to visit her home. "Hm, maybe I should think of it is a compliment." He mumbled to himself. Perhaps the teachers saw him as somebody that could be trusted with something that important. Keeping that in mind he slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out into the hallway.

"Ah, Senpai." Sakura greeted him with a bright smile and waved him over.

"Hello, Sakura." He waved back and went over to her. Her class wasn't on this floor, so she should either be heading home or if she had a meeting with the Archery Club she would be heading accross the school grounds.

Sakura's face turned a bit red and she started to fidget with her hands. "Um, well, I don't have club meetings this afternoon and Nii-san said I could do whatever I wanted today so um..." Her voice trailed off.

Shirou tilted his head in confusion. "What is it?"

"Would you like to walk home together?" Sakura asked, blushing furiously.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah sure, but I have to make a quick stop by Tohsaka's house if that's okay."

"Tohsaka-senpai? Why?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Issei asked me to take all the work she's been missing over to her place. Which will end up being quite a lot." Shirou scratched his cheek.

"H-her house? Did you know her that well?" She brought her hands to her cheeks in surprise.

"Of course not, but no one else would do it so I have to. She might fail school if I don't."

Sakura's bright smile faded from her face, displeased by at the thought of seeing Tohsaka. "I suppose there's no helping it then." She replied with a small sigh.

It would be nice to have some company on the walk home, she followed him up the stairs where Shirou opened the door to the student council room. Instead of finding Issei he found someone else who he wasn't expecting to see.

"Good afternoon Emiya, Matou." Another one of their teachers Kuzuki Soichirou was adding a folder to the already large pile on top of the table.

"Afternoon, Kuzuki-sensei. Is that everything?" Shirou asked, staring at the pile of folders.

Kuzuki nodded. "Yes, if you happen to see Tohsaka give her my regards. I hope she is well."

Shirou picked up the folders and tucked them under his arm. "Will do, everyone seems pretty worried about her. It would be a shame if something happened to her."

The two of them bid Kuzuki-sensei goodbye and headed out of the school and across the grounds. Sakura followed behind Shirou carrying her bag and smiling brightly. Her beautiful hair swayed as she walked as did the ribbon she kept tied in it. The two of them didn't get to walk home together very often so this was a rare treat.

"Senpai? About those gas leaks in town, you don't think Tohsaka-senpai..." She sounded worried. Her worries were valid, recently there had been a few deaths around town related to gas leaks and even an old fashioned murder. Fuyuki was starting to become dangerous. The murder was apparently done with an edged weapon like a spear or a sword, but no other details were known and the culprit had not been caught yet.

"I'm sure she's alright, those leaks mostly occur on the outskirts of town so I wouldn't worry too much." He looked back and gave her a reassuring smile.

As they crossed the bridge the sky darkened overhead and the clouds thickened. Sakura looked up and her eyes dropped. It appeared as though she didn't like the rain, she had a sad look on her face like it made her remember something unpleasant.

"Sakura, why don't you go on ahead. It looks like it's going to open up soon." Shirou said as they neared the western houses where Tohsaka's place was.

"Um, are you sure?"

Shirou nodded. "Yeah go ahead, you don't have an umbrella today anyway."

"Niether do you Senpai."

Shirou chuckled. "Don't worry about me, go on ahead and wait for Fuji-nee. We'll start dinner once I get back."

A rumble of thunder could be heard overhead and Sakura looked up at the sky again. "I'll go ahead then. Come back soon, I'd hate for you to get a cold."

"Don't start dinner without me no matter how much Fuji-nee whines." He said with a smile.

Sakura giggled. "Of course, I'll be going Senpai." She continued down the street towards the Emiya house while Shirou turned down a side street lined with the larger houses. Sakura watched his back as he walked with both hands full, she watched him for awhile before she felt a small drop of water fall onto her head. She jogged forward, leaving Shirou behind.

Shirou carried the papers and reached a large house he knew to be Tohsaka's. He'd never seen it this close before but occasionally he passed Tohsaka on the way to school since they came the same way. "Man this stuff is heavy..." He complained as he walked through the stone archway and onto the grounds. As Shirou passed the stone arch he felt strange. The air felt thicker, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. It felt like walking through syrup.

He stopped for a moment to collect himself. He figured it must have been his nerves, coming to a girl's house. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, the air felt wrong somehow. That was the only way he knew how to describe it. Ignoring the pressure in the back of his mind he made it to the front door and switched his bag to his other hand so he could ring the doorbell.

_Ding dong._

No answer. Not a sound from inside.

"Tohsaka!" Shirou called as the rain started to patter down on his head. Again no answer. "Dammit." He looked up at the sky. He couldn't very well go home and just leave things as they were. If he left Tohsaka's work by the door it would get soaked and ruined, if she didn't see it she would fail her classes. He put his things down for a moment, long enough to take off his jacket and wrap the papers up inside it so they would not get soaked.

"Tohsaka Rin!" He called again and rang the doorbell. No answer, no sounds from inside even though there were lights on. He sighed. He was going to have to get inside. He couldn't believe he was even thinking of breaking into Tohsaka's house, but it was for her own good. He couldn't just leave things as they were, and he had to make sure she got her work. He didn't have to stick around, just drop her stuff off on the table and get out.

"I never thought I'd be doing something like this." He said to himself as he started to look for a good way to get in the house without breaking a window or doing something drastic. First things first. He reached his hand out and grabbed the handle, jiggling it gently. Locked. He laughed. "Didn't think that would work anyway."

He methodically checked the windows, all of them were locked on the north an east side of the house. There were no windows on the back, so he checked the other side of the house. The nearest two were were locked, but the third leading into the living room was for some reason or another unlocked. "Hm, lucky." He was fortunate the last window was open or he would have been forced to just go back home.

Forcing the window open he threw his things inside where they made a wet noise as they hit the floor. "Alright, up we go." He lifted himself up and entered the house. The lights were dimmed, but even so Shirou could tell how aristocratic the place looked. It was hard to believe Tohsaka lived in a place like this all by herself, no family or anything. Once inside, he had to be as quiet as possible. He felt someone was still here, and he didn't want them to notice. He picked up the folders wrapped in his jacket and unwrapped them, placing them on the glass coffee table in the center of the room near the couch. "Jeez this place is huge..." He mumbled to himself and looked around a bit.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a very bright light coming from underneath a door.

_"It's nothing, stay away."_

Something made him take a step towards it. By the looks of it the door led to the basement.

_"You shouldn't be here, get out."_

The feeling he felt when he crossed the gateway out front was back. A shiver went though his body that gave him goosebumps and made his hair stand on end. It felt like the light was calling his name, like he had to investigate it. It felt unnatural and made his spine tingle.

_"Don't open it. There's nothing down there."_

He grabbed the handle and opened the door. The bright red light flooded out and illuminated the entire living room that he was just in. His breath stuck in his throat as he started to descend the stairs as quietly as he could. The steps were made of stone as was the walls, the basement would most likely be made of concrete. He had to hold up his hand to keep the bright light from blinding him, as he reached the last step and stepped into the basement he brought his hand down.

The room he was in now was just a single large room made of concrete, scattered about the border were various physical training equipment like weights, barbels, a chin up bar, and all manner of other things. On the floor was etched some kind of symbol, it looked like one hid father had shown him once. It was a Magic Circle, used for the most powerful of rituals and spells. It was the Circle that the bright light was coming from, on the edge near an old looking wooden desk stood a girl with flowing black hair tied on each side stood with her back to him.

On the table she was facing there was a knife. Shirou watched her pick it up and enclose her palm around the blade, running her hand across it. He heard her make a small noise and grit her teeth, she uttered something in a language which Shirou didn't recognize and turned around.

"Oh..." She stopped dead when she saw him, a surprised look on her face, her eyes wide.

Shirou couldn't even force himself to talk. The words caught in his throat and he choked on them, he couldn't do anything but stare back at Tohsaka clutching the knife with her own blood on it. Her fist clenched and she took a couple of steps towards him.

"Emiya-kun?" She asked hesitantly, wanting to believe it wasn't him standing there.

"Tohsaka I.." Shirou started to say when a drop of her blood dripped from her hand onto the Magic Circle and an enormous wind errupted forth, no it wasn't wind. It was a suction, it was sucking them in as the Magic Circle glowed brighter.

"No no no! Get back!" She shouted urgently.

While Tohsaka grabbed onto something to steady herself Shirou found himself in a bad position and was being pulled into the vortex with glowed brighter than before, so bright he had to shield his eyes from it.

"Don't touch it Emiya-kun!" She shouted desperately.

Shirou was thrown to the ground and started to slide along the ground, being pulled into the center of the Circle. He scrambled to get away from it but it was too late and there was nothing he could grab on to.

"Grab my hand!" Tohsaka shouted and extended her arm while she held into a pipe that went from the floor to the cieling.

The roar of the wind filled his ears as Shirou reached for Tohsaka's hand. However it was too late as he was pulled into the center, it felt like the floor opened up below him and he started to fall. "Emiya-kun!" The last thing he heard was Tohsaka screaming his name as she faded from view. Shirou heard screaming as he fell and fell for what seemed like an eternity with no sound but the screaming and the roar of the wind. It didn't take him long to realize that the screaming he heard was his own. A pulsating red light filled his vision, it was so bright Shirou had to close his eyes. He was going to die. He felt that above all else, he would fall to his death.


	3. The Unknown

ACT III - The Unknown

Shirou fell and he fell. He fell for so long that he no longer had the energy to continue screaming, he feared opening his eyes, fearing that what he would see would be his death before him. This was not the way he wanted his life to end, he wanted to protect people, to see Sakura again. No that wasn't right, that wasn't the way this should be. Forcing himself, Shirou opened his eyes.

If he was going to die, he wanted to see his last moments. A hero wasn't the kind of person that would just sit back and cower as death approached him. That was why he opened his eyes, gritting his teeth. What he saw was green. A grassy plain with a nearby forest came into view, this was what he was falling towards. He hit the ground with a large thud, kicking up a large cloud of dust as he plowed into the ground.

Shirou's face twitched in pain and her heard something snap. He felt pain, that meant he wasn't dead. Somehow he'd survived, the fall didn't kill him but he felt pretty beaten up all the same. "Ugh, how many ribs did I break?" Gritting his teeth he lifted his body up from the dirt and clutched his side. Around him was a crater, a crater that he himself had created. His clothes were torn and covered with dirt, as was the rest of him. His body was bruised, broken, and covered in many cuts that were oozing small amounts of blood.

Painfully, he managed to climb out of the crater and get a better look at his surroundings. The sky was blue, and the sun was shining overhead with a few clouds peacefully driving across the sky. A grassy plain stretched out before him and behind him was the forest he'd seen when he'd fallen in. "That's not right. It was raining..." He recalled when he entered Tohsaka's house that it had just started to rain. Not much time has passed since then, so there was no way that the weather could be this clear in such a short time. Another thing was the sun, it should be almost evening, however the sun shined high in the sky as if it were only mid day.

"Where... am I?" He muttered and spun around, trying to figure out where he was. However he didn't recognize anything, even the sky seemed unfamiliar. Nothing would be accomplished by standing here and thinking. He was injured, confused, and hungry. The only thing he could do was start walking, but where? He had no idea where he was, for all he knew there wasn't a person around for miles. For now, he decided he would turn around and follow the border of the forest, if he followed the outside he was bound to run into a house or something.

He began limping towards the trees. It was painful to even walk but he had no other choice. The treeline was about 500 yards away, and for every step Shirou took they seemed to get further and further away. About halfway there Shirou tripped over a hole in the ground and fell face forward. He raised his head and looked at the trees, taking a deep breath he pushed his body up and managed to get on his feet again. After just a few steps he stumbled and tripped, falling to the ground again. Shirou sighed deeply and tried to stand, finding it was useless. He had no strength left. "I guess this is it..." His vision started to blur and his eyes grew heavy. "Sorry Sakura, looks like I'm going to be late for dinner." His eyes closed, and he passed out.

()()()

Shirou woke up coughing and found himself to be soaked in freezing cold water. Standing over him were two men with a crude bucket made out of wood, it wouldn't be strange for someone to do that if they found someone laying on the ground out in the middle of nowhere. However the strange part was that the two men were wearing shining metal armor, complete with swords at their hips sheathed in leather. What's more, the men certainly were not Japanese.

"It seems as though he is still alive." One of the men said, though Shirou could not understand them. His marks in English weren't very good, even so they spoke with strange accents so to Shirou they still may as well be speaking another language.

"Wot should we do with 'im?" The other man asked.

"Um, excuse me?" Shirou asked and managed to raise his body up from the ground.

Upon speaking both the men looked at him and narrowed their eyes. "He is a foreigner." The first man glared menacingly.

The second man unsheathed his sword. "He must be a Saxon spy! Let's take his head!"

"Hey, hold on a minute! Put that away!" Shirou scrambled backwards frantically.

"Silence, scum!" The first man stepped forward and kicked him in the head with a very heavy boot, sending him rolling along the ground for a foot or two. The other man approached Shirou with his sword raised, but he was stopped by the other one. "This one might be a valuable prisoner. We will take him back with us." He approached Shirou again.

"I'm telling you wait a min-" Shirou was silenced by a heavy blow and he was knocked out once again.

The next time he awoke on his own, he found he was slumped over the back of a horse. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head which was now throbbing quite heavily. The ground the chestnut colored horse was walking on was covered in straw, like some kind of primitive road. He looked up, it looked like he was in a village of some kind. Instead of houses made of brick, concrete, mortar and modern materials the houses he saw now were mostly made of wood, sod, and straw. There was no sign of the civilization he once knew. No cars, no streets, no signs, no traffic. It was almost like he'd gone back in time.

He thought maybe he should try and escape, these men were awfully violent who knew what they would do to him once they reached wherever it was they were taking him. Since he had been splashed with water he felt a little refreshed, so he may be able to run a little even if his head was throbbing so much it felt like a balloon with too much air in it. However if they came after him on these horses there would be no way he could get away. Still, he might be able to escape them in between the houses if he was lucky.

He took a breath and slid as quietly as he could off the horse his broken ribs sending sharp pain through his chest..

"You there! Stop!" It was to no avail, the man stopped his horse and quickly turned around.

"Shit!" His feet kicked off the ground and he began to run in between the nearest two houses he saw, if they could be called houses. The people he passed wearing primitive cloth robes screamed when they saw him and stepped aside, allowing him to run through without any problem.

"I said stop!" The man unsheathed his sword and turned to his partner. "Circle around, do not let him escape." The man nodded and rode off around the houses.

Shirou ducked and weaved through many of the houses as he could. Off in the distance he caught a glympse of a tall grassy hill surrounded by a high stone wall. Passed the wall he saw what looked like a tower or spire jutting into the sky, it looked like a castle of some kind, a really big one by the looks of it.

Behind and to the side he heard hoofbeats that could not be mistaken for anything else than horses belonging to the men following him. He started running again and turned a corner and grabbed a few wicker baskets that were stacked up and threw them down on the ground to hinder the man behind him. He turned another corner and was met with a heavily armored man standing there in the middle of the alley like he'd been waiting for Shirou.

He was different than the others, his armor was black like it was burnt and he wore a helmet with it's visor down to hide his face. In his hand he clutched a very large black sword, around it's guard were wrapped iron chains. The armor was sinister looking, like a demon from hell sent to take souls back to the underworld. Shirou could feel the man's gaze on him, and just by looking he could tell that this person had done extraordinary things.

Shirou's breath hung in his throat as he backed away from the man. For every step backward he took, the silent knight in front of him took one forward. "Dammit!" Shirou shouted and turned around to double back, but before he even ran 5 yards the man was on him. He ran forward like a bullet and tackled Shirou to the ground, he grabbed one of Shirou's arms and bent it backwards as well as shifted the weight on one of his knees to the very center of Shirou's back, effectively pinning him down.

After a few moments of silence the sound of armored men running towards them filled the alleyway. Men wielding long spears came into view led by the two men that had captured Shirou earlier. Upon seeing the knight in black holding Shirou down they sheathed their weapons.

"My Lord." The men stood at attention and saluted.

The black knight merely nodded in response.

"My apologies my Lord. We were transporting this prisoner when he managed to slip away. It was not my wish to have someone such as you to be forced to intervene." The man that had hit Shirou earlier spoke and bowed apologetically.

"Hmm." The knight in black made a noise like a low growl that sounded as though he was satisfied. He let go of Shirou's arm, stood up, and walked away towards the castle that Shirou had saw earlier. The knight's heavy footsteps could be heard on the ground and Shirou wondered just what kind of person was under all that armor.

As the knight walked away the other two men approached him and picked him up off of the ground. "If you can understand what I am saying then I would refrain from trying something like that again. I would bring your corpse along just the same." He growled at Shirou who unfortunately still couldn't understand a word of what was said.

Before Shirou knew it he was being led towards the castle with his hands bound behind his back with rope, and spears pressed against his neck to prevent his further escape. They must think he was valuable enough not to kill, however he still could not manage to figure out where he was. By the looks of the weapons and armor the soldiers were outfitted with he could guess he was in England. The swords they carried were definitely of western origin, as was the armor they wore. No, that was all wrong, it was as if he had believed that he wasn't in modern days anymore. There was no way something like that could be possible.

"Time travel? What kind of nonsense is that?" Shirou muttered. As he spoke one of the soldiers yelled something at him and pressed the spear further against his neck. This had to be some kind of a dream. There was nowhere in the world that still looked like this, unless he stumbled upon some kind of strange place where time didn't move forward. However that too was impossible, he certainly wasn't in Fuyuki City anymore. Another question was how he got here? Did what happened with Tohsaka have something to do with it? It was definitely magic he stumbled upon her using, but he didn't know enough to take a guess at what kind of spell it was.

They reached the top of the grass covered hill and Shirou was shoved through the steel gates and into the courtyard. Out front there was a very large garden filled with many kinds of flowers, stone fountains, decorative stones and some statues. It was heavily guarded and there were a couple of guards patrolling around the tall hedges. It was a stereotypical castle setting. Near the huge heavy wooden door leading into the castle stood the black knight, leaning casually against the stone wall with his sword sheathed. He was still fully armored even though it didn't look like he was doing much of anything.

As they neared the door the knight pounded three times on it with his heavily armored fist. Slowly the door opened after a minute or so, behind it was a fortified steel portcullis which noisily raised itself after the door had been opened. Shirou was led through the doors passed the black knight who slowly turned his head and silently watched the soldiers lead Shirou into the castle.

The interior was lined with many soldiers standing at attention as they entered the dimly lit entryway. No that's wrong, it wasn't dimly lit there were no lights at all save for what sunlight came in through the windows. That meant no electricity, whoever all these people were, Shirou thought they were taking this facade a bit seriously. There were many stone pillars inside going all the way up to the high ceiling. The place looked seriously fortified, as if it were built to withstand attack.

"You there, report!" Standing at the end of the room at the head of the soldiers barked a man wearing shining silver armor, with a deep red cape flowing down his back. The man had brown hair that reached passed his ears but was not quite shoulder length. Around his head he wore a silver circlet like a headband, Shirou thought this man looked seriously important and perhaps he was the man at the head of the guard here.

The men leading Shirou stopped and saluted. "My Lord, we found this man near the forest. He is not English, we think he may be a valuable prisoner."

The man in shining armor stepped forward towards Shirou and eyed him from head to toe. "Who are you? Where do you hail from?" He asked.

"Answer him!" One of the soldiers snapped and kicked Shirou in the legs, causing him to grunt in pain and forced him to his knees.

"I will ask you again. Who are you?" The man in armor asked again.

"Um, I'm sorry but I don't understand you." Shirou looked up and said even though he knew they couldn't understand him either.

"This boy, he does not speak English?" The knight turned his attention back to the soldiers.

"It does not appear so my Lord. He speaks a dialect I am not familiar with. My apologies." The soldier bowed politely.

"I am also confused as to what language this person spoke." The knight said as he walked a circle around Shirou as if studying him, Shirou could do nothing but keep his head down and wait. "It is not Spanish, nor French, not Latin, or even German." The knight looked just as confused as Shirou did now.

"What should we do with him sir?" The man holding Shirou asked.

"This man is interesting, I believe His Majesty and his adviser should be informed of this. For now you will see him to the dungeon."

"Yes sir!" The men saluted and hauled Shirou to his feet, dragging him further into the interior of the castle. He was led down some stairs into the depths of the castle lit only by torches on the walls, he was pushed into a cell with iron bars with more straw on the ground. It smelled of blood and other foul things so badly that it made his nose itch.

"It looks like you are important enough to be kept alive. You should be thankful." The soldier sneered at him and walked away after locking the gate.

"Yeah, go to hell!" Shirou growled after him and sat down against the cold stone wall on the cold stone floor. He heaved a sigh and decided to check out his little home away from home for now. He stood up and wrapped his hands around the bars, jiggling them as much as he could, they were definitely solid and built to stand. "Shit." There was no way out, there was nothing left but to sit here and figure out what these people were going to do with him.

He had a long time to think about how he'd gotten in this position. He'd gone from happily living his life in Fuyuki City to some dungeon in who knows where. He had no idea what was going on. The day's events weighed heavily on his mind, the more he thought about it the more his head hurt. Luckily most of the pain in his head was overshadowed by the rest of the pain coursing through the rest of his body. Sakura and Fuji-nee must be worried sick about him by now. How long had it been since he got here? What was going on back home? So many questions left unanswered, luckily he had nothing but time.

Near the back of the cell there was a large bed of straw, it was dirty but it was better than laying down on the even dirtier stone floor. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine that he was back home in his beloved shed. The shed where he trained his magic every night and spent his free time. Shirou heaved a sigh, letting some of the pressure lift off of him. If he could forget for even a moment... no he couldn't. He sat up, his eyes still closed. It seems he couldn't forget his situation even if he wanted to. Since he had some free time right now he might as well train.

"Trace...on" Those were the words he used to start, he felt the familiar feeling of the burning sensation in his back. As if he was inserting a hot iron rod into his back, this was the creation of his Magic Circuit, the technique his father taught him. He did this every night without fail for as long as he could remember, but never once had he actually succeeded in using the strengthening magic. He reached out and put his hands on the bars of his cell and poured his magical energy into all the holes in it's structure to strengthen it. However he lost focus when he heard a noise and failed. "Trace off." He heaved a sigh and opened his eyes to find someone standing outside his cell.

It was an old man with a flowing white beard and wearing simple looking blue robes. "You are going about that all wrong you know." He said to Shirou through the bars as he leaned against the stone wall outside.

"Huh?" Shirou asked.

"You cannot create Magic Circuits like that. You will end up taking your own life." The old man said again.

"Hey! I can understand you!" Shirou exclaimed. Yes, he could understand the old man's words... but why? Why could he understand this one person out of everyone he'd met so far.

The old man nodded and smiled brightly. "Yes... and I you, young man."

"Why?" That was the only question Shirou could managed to ask.

"Hey, you should not be down here." A guard came down the stairs and barked at the old man.

He stood up and turned to Shirou. "It seems our time is up for now. We will meet again, of that I am sure." With a smile he began to make his way up the stairs.

"Wait, wait a minute! Who are you?" Shirou grabbed the bars of his cell and called after him.

The old man stopped and turned around, still smiling brightly. "Who am I you ask? I am simply an old man." He said and turned back, chuckling as he ascended the stairs with the soldier.


	4. Babel

ACT IV - Babel

Shirou awoke to a loud clatter. Apparently he'd fallen asleep without realizing it after the old man left. When he opened his eyes he found that his breakfast had been slid into his cell by one of the guards. "Not exactly a three course meal is it?" Shirou mumbled as he stared at the plate with a single piece of moldy bread and a cup filled with rather dirty looking water. These people didn't seem to care about their captives much, but it should be expected considering everyone he's met so far save for the old man has been treating him pretty roughly.

He didn't know what time it was, but he hadn't eaten in many hours. If things stayed the way they were then meals like this would become regular, if he refused to eat then of course he would die. Hesitantly Shirou picked up the piece of bread, doing his best to clean the mold off of it and then he bit into it. The second he did he regretted it, it was indeed sour and rotten and he was sure to be sick if he continued to eat it. "Shit." He sighed and threw the bread back on the crude looking plate, unable to stomach another bite.

The halls were quiet in the dungeon and Shirou leaned back against the wall, having nothing else to do but listen to the flames crackle from the torches on the wall. Sleeping on the straw bed wouldn't do his body any good if he kept it up. Luckily he had sort of a resistance against it from falling asleep in his shed back home, so it might take awhile before he actually started to have any problems. "What am I going to do now?" He closed his eyes and thought about Sakura. It had only been about a day, but Shirou was already starting to miss her and surely she must be worried about him by now. He couldn't just stay here forever, he had to get back somehow.

Unfortunately he arrived by magic, so he would most likely have to return by magic as well. Shirou didn't know any magic, so he would either have to find someone to teach him or live out his life here in this cell and die here in this strange world. Finding out where he was wouldn't be a bad idea either, yet another problem was that he couldn't communicate with anyone besides that old man. "Well, I've got all the time in the world to learn both English and Magic." He heaved another sigh.

About an hour later Shirou was interrupted by someone noisily opening the door to his cell, entering it were two guards. "Come on, let's go. There's someone important who wants to talk to you." One of them said as they approached Shirou and grabbed his arms, jerking him violently to his feet. Shirou guessed something finally had to be done about him. Clearly these people saw him as some sort of threat judging by how rough he was being treated. Nobody had examined his injuries at all since he'd arrived and they'd been left untreated, leaving his whole body in quite a bit of pain. Even his head began to feel groggy, maybe he was still in shock due to everything that had happened. He didn't think any of it was real, even though the pain he was feeling certainly was real enough.

He was dragged up the stairs and through the castle. He began to see the interior which was decorated with a few tapestries, he was taken up another set of stairs leading towards a very large room lined to the teeth with heavily armored guards. Whatever was in here looked extremely important. He could barely focus his mind enough to get a feel for the architecture, since he woke up he had been feeling a bit off.

Shirou was dragged down a long red carpet, at the end of which was a large throne made of thick wood and stone. On the throne sat a person dressed in a color that could only be described as royal blue. The young man wore a blue robe that was down to his feet, the robe looked more like an expensive dress than anything else and was trimmed in gold. On his arms, chest, and feet he wore heavy armor with an intricate blue design drawn on the breastplate. His golden hair was quite long and was tied behind his head, it was a strange look for a man that age. He sat on the throne, staring at Shirou with brilliant emerald eyes as the guards brought him forward. At his side were three men, the two knights from before... and the old man that Shirou saw in the dungeon.

"Your Majesty we have brought the foreigner as you requested." The guards carrying Shirou adressed the King and bowed.

"For God's sake let the boy go, he is in no condition to cause any trouble, let alone escape you." The old man barked at the soldiers, who released Shirou onto his knees and stood behind him.

"Have you not had him checked out by a physician? He is in horrible shape." The king spoke to the guards and then looked at Shirou.

"My aplogies, we have not Your Majesty. We thought it best to leave him as he was for the time being." The guard bowed apologetically.

Shirou looked up at the old man, silently asking what they were talking about. He knew better than to speak, the weapons they were wielding were quite real so he had better be on his best behavior. The old man put a finger to his lips, telling Shirou to wait just a bit longer.

Finishing his conversation with the guards the King turned his attention to Shirou. "My apologies, it seems my soldiers were not aware of the proper way to care for injured prisoners." The King nodded his head apologetically.

"Your Majesty he can not understand you. However if I have your permission I believe I can remedy that." The old man stepped forward and bowed.

"Please do. We very well can not proceed if we do not speak the same language." He said.

The old man approached Shirou and produced from his robe a small glass vial of clear liquid. "Please drink this. Don't worry, it isn't poisoned." He said after Shirou had given him a questioning look.

Hesitantly Shirou reached out and took the vial from the old man's hand, he looked at it for a few moments before he threw it back and swallowed it in one gulp. The second he did his head started to burn, he grit his teeth and shook off the pain as his grip tightened around the glass vial.

"Well?" The king asked.

"Ah! I can understand you!" Shirou exclaimed again. He couldn't understand what the King was saying before, but after drinking that liquid he somehow could now.

The old man chuckled and smiled brightly. "Isn't it wonderful? I call it Babel. Anyone who drinks it can understand any language spoken to them, and in turn others can understand them." He clapped his hands in excitement.

"Well done. As expected of the King's magister." The knight in the shining armor spoke.

"You never cease to amaze me, Merlin." The King praised him.

"Merlin!?" Shirou exclaimed and looked at the old man. There wasn't a person in the entire world who didn't know who Merlin was. If this person in front of him was Merlin, then the person on the throne was...

"May I present His Majesty Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon and the current King of England." Merlin gestured his hand towards the king.

"King... Arthur..." Shirou whispered in awe.

Arthur nodded. "I believe you have already met two of my knights." He motioned towards the two men standing by his side. "Sir Lancelot." Arthur introduced him, and the night in black removed his helmet revealing a stern looking face and long raven colored hair that stretched down his back. Lancelot merely nodded at Shirou, his hand resting on the hilt of his large sword at his hip. "And of course Sir Galahad." The knight in the bright armor nodded.

"You have our names, now I would ask that you give us yours." Arthur narrowed his eyes at Shirou.

"E-Emiya Shirou." Shirou spoke shakily. It was a lot to take in at once, it was very hard to breathe, his breath seemed to catch in his chest. He really had gone back in time, a long way back in time. He began to feel very dizzy.

"And where are you from, Emiya Shirou?" Arthur asked sternly.

"Japan, i-it's an island off the coast of Asia." He explained in detail, figuring these people may have never heard of Japan before.

"Are there more people from Japan here?" Arthur continued his interrogation.

Shirou shook his head. "No, just me."

"Do you believe him Your Majesty?" Galahad asked and crossed his arms, looking at Shirou with disbelief.

Arthur stared at Shirou for a moment, stared deep into his eyes. Then he nodded. "Yes, I believe he is telling the truth. What's more, he seems confused and out of place. Is that correct, Emiya Shirou?" Arthur asked.

Shirou nodded. "Yes, I have no idea how I ended up here. I don't know where I am, or even what year it is for that matter."

Merlin leaned over and whispered something in Arthur's ear. "Are you sure?" Arthur asked to which Merlin simply nodded, looking at Shirou with a smile. "One last question." Arthur turned his attention back to Shirou.

Shirou raised his head and met Arthur's eyes.

"Can you fight, Emiya Shirou?"

Shirou thought the question was strange. He could use a bow well enough, and he knew quite a bit about swords even though he wasn't anywhere near Fuji-nee's level. But perhaps it was in his best interests to just go along with whatever he was offered at this point. He didn't want to get himself involved in this countries affairs, but he didn't think they would just let him leave without any kind of supervision. After much thought, Shirou nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I can fight." He had to stay close to Merlin if he wanted to figure out some way to get home. If anyone in the world knew, it would be him. If he chose to fight, he might be able to stay in the castle, that would make asking Merlin questions a lot easier.

"Good. You two, please see to it that this man is taken to the infirmary and has his injuries treated." Arthur ordered the two men standing behind Shirou and then turned to Merlin. "Since you have taken a liking to him, I would like you to please accompany him and answer any questions that he may have."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Merlin bowed and the men behind Shirou picked him up more gently this time. Merlin followed behind, for an old man he was pretty light on his feet and easily followed the two soldiers carrying him.

"It seems His Majesty thinks highly of you. Or at least he can see that you're not a person that needs to be watched too much." Merlin said as he strode along next to the soldiers.

"What makes you say that?" Shirou asked.

"He hasn't looked at anyone like that since he began recruiting for the Round Table." Merlin said with a grin.

"So what did you whisper to him anyway?" Shirou asked.

"Oh, I told him you were a Magus. Albeit a hopeless rookie, but all we have to do is figure out what your origin is and go from there." Merlin said as he padded along.

"That means you're going to train me?" Shirou's eyes went wide. To have training from one of the greatest Magi in history would certainly help.

Merlon nodded. "Indeed, it will keep you from being burnt at the stake anyway." He said with a chuckle.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "Yeah, that would be bad. That'll save me some time too, I have a lot I need to ask you about."

They arrived at the infirmary which looked more like a butcher's store than a doctor's office. Currently there were no other people in here, but the whole room smelled like blood, and there were no windows to ventilate out the air either. The room was lined with cots, one of which Shirou was made to lay down on and wait for the physician to come and look at him.

"It seems we both have a lot of questions we would like to ask one another. However I must ask you to wait until you are feeling a bit better, you are quite pale at the moment. I will answer all of your questions in time." Merlin said with a smile.

"I will leave you for now, I shall return later with a fresh set of clothing for you to change into. The ones you are wearing a quite torn up." Merlin said as he stood up, watching a man enter the room from the other side.

As he was about to leave Shirou stopped him. "Merlin, thanks for everything."

Merlin gave a soft chuckle. "You are welcome lad, I just pray that you are worth the effort, if not, I suppose we'll have to hang you." He said as he turned and left the room, Shirou could hear his feet padding along as he walked down the hallway they came from.


	5. Questions and Answers

ACT V - Questions and Answers

The person that came and examined Shirou's body poked and prodded him quite a bit, which was quite painful considering he had several broken ribs. In the end, it had to be wrapped up. It seems medicine hadn't advanced very much yet.

"Drink plenty of alcohol, it will at least numb your pain. Moving around too much will not do you any good either." The doctor said as he walked away.

About that time Merlin came back clutching something in his hand. He stood at the doorway and threw them at Shirou. "Put those on and follow me."

When Shirou got a good look at them it seemed they were clothes. Rather thin and tattered they looked like they were made out of cotton, they were so thin you could almost see through them. However it was a fresh pair of pants and a tunic, simple, and it would prevent him from having to run around with half his body showing. Shirou slipped them on and found they they were quite loose, he looked more like a homeless person than a high school student now but it would have to do.

When he was dressed he thanked Merlin and followed his lead. "So you're the King's advisor right? What's he like?" Shirou asked.

"Adviser? Is that what they call me?" Merlin chuckled. "Sir Bedivere is much more an adviser to the King than I am." He avoided the question about the King completely.

Bedivere? That was the name of another knight of Arthur's court, but Shirou hadn't seen any other knights around besides Lancelot and Galahad yet. Perhaps he was elsewhere at the moment. Shirou wondered if he would have the chance to run into him eventually. "Then what exactly do you do here in the castle?"

"I do not do anything specific, His Majesty gives me leave to go and do whatever I must so I am not necessarily bound here. I do advise the King on some matters, but I also assist the physician as well. However most of my time is spent in my tower." Merlin explained.

"Awfully care free aren't you?" Shirou said in amazement.

Merlin laughed. "Perhaps I do lead a care free life here, but I rather like it." He turned to Shirou and his face took on a very mischievous expression. "You however will not. I shall work you like a dog."

Shirou cringed back a little. What exactly did that mean? Would his training really be that severe? "Um, so that large tower near the back of the wall is yours?" He asked to get his mind off what Merlin just said.

Merlin nodded. "Indeed. You will be spending quite a bit of time here. One other thing, if anyone else asks you to do something I expect you to do it. It matters not who it is, be it a guard or a civilian in the village."

Shirou nodded his head. He could see where Merlin would get the idea, and it would make Shirou feel better to help out a little if he was going to be spending time here. He didn't want to feel like he was freeloading in the King's Castle of all places. "So this would be... Camelot, right?" Shirou asked after looking around the dark hallway they were walking down.

Merlin nodded again. "Yes, this is Camelot. You must really be a foreigner if you did not know such a thing."

Shirou furrowed his brow. "Hey, old man I don't even know what year it is, much less what castle I'm in." He said, becoming a bit annoyed.

Merlin chuckled. "Fair enough lad. You are in the 6th century and the exact year of course is 536." He explained.

"536!?" Shirou exclaimed with great surprise.

Shirou fell silent, as he and Merlin left the castle and entered the grounds. 536 A.D... the date sounded vaguely familiar, he knew it was important somehow to King Arthur however he could not quite remember right now due to the shock of finding out exactly what year he was in.

"Was it that unexpected?" Merlin asked as he opened the door to the tower and ushered Shirou inside with a hand gesture. "What year are you from? I would surely like to know. Your clothes and the way you speak are both strange, even though I can understand you I can tell that you speak strangely." Merlin asked curiously.

"20XX." He answered simply.

"By the Gods! You had better not be lying to me boy!" Merlin exclaimed, generally surprised.

"Hey, what exactly would I gain from lying to you?" Shirou looked offended.

"Does everyone in your time wear those same kinds of close similar to when you first arrived? Does everyone speak that strange language you do? Does man still use horses to get around? Who is your King? What kind of advancements in weaponry are there? What are the Magi of your era like?" Merlin rambled off many questions in an instant, clearly excited, his face was as giddy as a school boy.

"Whoa whoa... one question at a time please." Shirou tried to calm him down until they at least had somewhere to sit down. Merlin looked like he couldn't hold in his anticipation. It was almost like his brain exploded and all those questions came tumbling out at once.

Merlin walked up the steps, mumbling something incoherent until they got to the top, which led to a single door. He opened it and entered a large room with many strange things in it. It almost looked like an herbalist's room as well, there were many liquids in jars scattered about. On the back wall there was a large shelf that held many things on it, plants, plant roots, various animal parts, and some other things that Shirou couldn't even recognize. On the opposite wall there was a sword rack with a single sword with a blade about three feet in length. Below it hung several daggers that looked like they were used for rituals. Shirou was in Merlin's Workshop.

"Have a seat lad, I have much to ask you before we get started." Merlin sat on a wooden stool and motioned for Shirou to sit on another one the opposite. The other bench was dusty and looked quite old, it seemed that Merlin either didn't get many visitors or he rarely brought any one up here.

And so it was that Merlin began to rattle off his questions again. Shirou answered them to the best of his ability, even taking care to try and explain things like a car or a gun in a way that someone from 6th century England could understand. It was difficult at some times when Merlin began asking about politics, and unfortunately Shirou knew next to nothing about Magi save for what little his father had told him. Before long Shirou noticed that the sun had begun to dip below the horizon. It seemed they had been talking for more than a few hours.

"Goodness, it seems this old man has gone and lost track of the sun." Merlin said with a smile as he turned his head and gazed out of the window. "Here, you must be hungry. I doubt you ate that sub standard bread they provide to prisoners." Merlin went to a cupboard nearby and pulled out a basket filled with rolls and tossed Shirou one.

Shirou bit into it and it tasted like heaven. He hadn't had anything to eat since he'd gotten here, refusing to eat in the dungeon had done a number on him. But this roll, even though it was a little hard filled his stomach nicely and set him flying out the window and into the clouds in pure bliss. It wasn't that the bread was special, it was even very bland and had no flavor at all than what was natural. It was the simple fact that Shirou was glad to have it.

The old man accross from him smiled happily and began to eat his own, placing the basket in between the two of them.

"Where do you get all of these?" Shirou asked in between mouthfuls.

"There is a man and his daughter who run a shop in the village, occasionally I provide them with herbs to mix into the bread and in turn he lets me take whatever I desire." Merlin said proudly.

"Hmm." Shirou mumbled and he grabbed another roll. "Where are the other knights at? So far I've only seen Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad." He asked curiously.

"You have only seen the dungeon, the throne room, and the infirmary so far. It does not surprise me that you have not seen them yet. When not at the King's side, Sir Bedivere can usually be found near stables. Sir Kay tends to patrol the town close to the castle, and Sir Gawain is kept busy to the lands in the north." Merlin explained lazily as he took a large bite of a roll.

"Hm, it sounds like they all have their hands full." Then it occurred to him, he had nowhere to stay now that he was officially out of prison. He had more questions about the king, the knights, and the queen who he had also yet to see. However there were now more pressing matters at hand.

Merlin saw his expression and chuckled. "I bet you are wondering where it is that you will be living from now on. It just so happens that I know of a few vacant houses in town. They are occupied because they are made for a single person, we have a lot of large families here and those smaller houses are being unused." He explained with a smile.

It seemed rather convenient that there were several vacant lots, more over why weren't there many single men or women in town? Perhaps they had recently gotten married, men in the 6th century did often get married early. Well, at this point he figured it wasn't very wise to look a gift horse in the mouth. "You do know that I have no money right? I can't afford something like that." Shirou couldn't just take something like that for free, it felt wrong. He should definitely find some way to pay for it, even if it meant sleeping in the dungeon again as much as he hated it.

Merlin laughed. "Your words are admirable lad, however if I am going to help you get home then I will not have my apprentice sleep on the ground."

"Then you will help me?" Shirou almost dropped the roll in his hands.

The old man nodded. "Yes, I will agree to help you. However in return I wish something of you."

"What could I possibly do to help you?" Shirou wondered. Merlin seemed to have a good setup here, there wasn't anything that Shirou could think of that he could do to help.

Merlin stroked his beard and he smirked. "I am certain I can come up with something." He said deviously.

That look of Merlin's sent chills up Shirou's spine. It didn't seem like Merlin could come up with anything right now, but he may have something on his mind. That look of his made him dread what was in store for him.

Merlin finished his roll and stood up. "If you wish I will escort you to a nice house fit for a single young man. It is getting rather late and I would not want you to sleep late on your first day."

"Y-Yeah sure." Well, if Shirou worked hard every day then he would consider the house paid for even if he had no money. His wallet was lost and he had officially nothing left to tie him to Fuyuki City except for his memories. Even his clothes were no longer his.

Merlin led him out of the tower and out of the castle grounds passed the guards patrolling with torches. Shirou hoped he would be able to adapt well to life here while he and Merlin searched for away to return him home, if he did not then he would risk troubling everyone around him. He would have to get used to not having electricity, gas power, plumbing, and even soap. His bathing would most likely be done in a river, Shirou hoped there was one nearby. That would certainly make things easier.

"It's almost like I've already accepted that I'm going to be living here..." He mumbled with a sigh as he followed Merlin though down the hill that led out of the castle Camelot. He couldn't let himself be changed by this, he had to remember where he came from, where he grew up, what his father said to him all those years ago under the moonlight.

"Did you say something lad?" Merlin asked as they reached the bottom of the hill and entered the desolate town.

"No, don't worry about it." The town was now dark and vacant, it seems like everyone had already turned in for the night, it was as quiet as a graveyard. Merlin turned down a street , his feet shuffling on the straw covered street. There were no lights of course, but Shirou at least thought there would be the occasional candle flickering somewhere.

"As you wish." Merlin answered, shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. Soon they reached a small hut with a wooden door, it was simply made, but it didn't look like it would fall apart with the first storm so it was good enough. Merlin opened the door and Shirou stepped inside.

It seemed whoever had been here last didn't move any furniture. In the center of the house there was a wooden table and two chairs. The floor was covered in straw like the streets outside, though it was infinitely much cleaner than the straw outside. There was a bed that looked like there were feathers inside of the cloth mattress rather than the straw he slept on in the dungeon. On the bed was a blanket made of wool, and a primitive pillow that looked similar to what the mattress was made out of. In the back there were some cupboards to store things in which thankfully were empty, Shirou would call this the pantry because that was basically what it was. A room separated from the main living space that had many shelves and what could be used as storage space.

"Will this do?" Merlin asked, looking a little bored as he watched Shirou look around.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, thanks again Merlin. You've really helped me out." He bowed deeply.

Merlin flung his beard over his shoulder and grinned. "Do not thank me yet lad. I shall make the guards aware that you are to be allowed into the castle for the time being. I will expect you soon after the sun rises. Sleep well, you are going to need it." He left after that, leaving Shirou little to do but climb into the bed and go to sleep.

This would be his home until he found a way back to Fuyuki. He was already starting to miss it, but Merlin didn't seem like a bad person. He had already helped Shirou out quite a lot, with his help he was able to escape the life of being a prisoner and obtained permission to enter Camelot of all places. It seemed like his life would start to become incredible. With luck, he would be able to meet many interesting people to prevent his new life from becoming boring. "536..." He mumbled as his eyes started to grow heavy.

He was still having trouble grasping that that was indeed the year he was in. There was also the King... King Arthur. If possible Shirou would like to speak with him more, he didn't seem like a bad person either, albeit a little cold. Shirou didn't figure there would be much time to talk with the King, he was no doubt a busy person and didn't have a lot of free time. However should circumstances arise, he wouldn't hesitate to find out about him a little bit.

Shirou drifted off to sleep, his last thoughts were of his friends in Fuyuki. Fuji-nee, Sakura, Issei, Shinji, Mitsuzuri. He wondered what they were all doing. Did they know he was gone? Was Tohsaka-senpai even trying to bring him back on her end? Shirou hoped she at least got her work that he'd left in her house. It seemed tomorrow Merlin would work him hard, whatever that would entail. He pushed the thoughts of his situation to the back of his mind, if he thought about it too much his brain would explode. He figured it would just be best to forget it for now and get some sleep. He would worry about what Merlin had planned tomorrow.


	6. Element

ACT VI - Element

Shirou awoke early that morning. Thankfully his body was trained for such things even back home, he was usually the first one awake so he could start breakfast. It seems like that served him well as he shuddered to think what Merlin would do to him if he was late. He got up to get dressed and then realized he currently didn't have any other clothes to wear other than the ones he was already wearing. He was about to go to the bathroom to wash his face, but then realized there was no plumbing.

He sighed and stared around his new house, looking rather sad and empty without the usual people filling it. "This... might take some getting used to." He mumbled to himself and opened his door to the morning air since there was nothing else to do here right now.

The air was quite cold, and there were already many people bustling about doing various things. All of them looked at Shirou strangely, but that was to be expected since they'd never seen a person quite like him before. Some were cleaning in front of their house, the men were getting on horses and heading out of town or going to open up their shops.

Shirou looked up at the castle on the green hill. It still didn't seem real, yet here it was. It was real. He touched his shoddy wooden door to confirm that he could actually feel the splinter filled wood. He looked down at his clothes, maybe he'd just hoped his old clothing was back on his body and that he was dreaming, but he wasn't.

By this time he figured he should head up to the castle. He turned in that direction and set off at a brisk pace. He could feel the cool morning breeze brushing right through his clothing, it actually didn't feel too bad and he was starting to see why people of this era wore things like that. He would have to remind himself to get more clothing later when he had some free time. It also seemed like he would be going without breakfast today too, he had no money to buy anything and even if he did he wouldn't know where to go. The village surrounding the castle actually seemed quite large, and he only saw a small fraction of it earlier while being chased by the guards upon his arrival.

A couple people on horses rode by and looked at him strangely but didn't say anything. Were they afraid of him? Certainly he was different than what was normal around here but some of them were even glaring like he was evil or something. Now that Shirou payed attention, the looks he got were quite varied, some of the villagers sneered, some just went the opposite direction, others seemed to not pay any attention at all. Shirou even spotted a couple young looking girls nearby sweeping the straw in front of their houses. Upon seeing him the two of them smiled and waved, Shirou nervously waved back and kept on walking.

There was a road leading up to the castle, he passed a few guards but it seems they didn't bother him and let him keep walking even though Shirou was a bit wary of them. It seemed like Merlin had done what he said, though Shirou couldn't figure out how exactly he'd let every single guard know that he was a person that wasn't to be kept out. It hadn't really been that long since Shirou had last seen him, but maybe it was best to not ask questions about that sort of thing.

He reached the front gates where two guards were standing there with large halberds. Upon seeing him they stepped aside and let him pass without saying a word. Shirou looked at them curiously, but they just continued to stare ahead like those guards in London that never moved and just stood there looking like statues all day. Shirou walked through the gate and into the garden, the flowers were quite beautiful in the morning light. Even though he had an appointment with Merlin, he couldn't help but stop and admire them.

The colors were extraordinary, and Shirou could tell that the plants were being taken care of very well. He felt a sense of peace and relaxation when he looked at them. He wondered who it was that cared for these, perhaps there was a groundskeeper that did it.

The garden looked like it wound around to the sides of the castle as well, Shirou was sure there were many great looking flowers back there as well. He would have to make a note of that for later when he had some free time. It seems like he'd been building up a list of things he would have to do later.

"Lad what are you doing out here? Did I not tell you to come straight to my tower this morning?" Merlin approached from behind Shirou with a rather sour look on his face.

"Oh, um... Sorry. I got a little distracted." Shirou jumped, spun around and apologized.

"Distracted the boy says." Merlin said with a sigh and then grabbed Shirou's shoulder. "Come on then, I will not have you be distracted any longer. What we do first will determine how exactly I am going to train you." He pushed Shirou away from the flowers and towards his tower. Out of the corner of his eye Shirou swore he saw what looked like a cat bounding through the flowers and chasing butterflies.

Shirou followed Merlin up to the top of his tower and back into his workshop. "What is it that you're going to do?" He asked as he sat down in the seat he'd sat in the previous night.

"We're going to find out what your Element is." Merlin said as he went to a table with many things on it, and began busying himself with something.

"My Element?"

Merlin nodded, but didn't turn back. Shirou began to hear a grinding sound coming from Merlin's desk. "Every Magus must have an Element that they are most attuned to. It is this that lets them find out what kind of Magic they are best at, and it is this that will determined how you are to be taught." He explained.

"So in other words, you can't train me unless you know what my Element is right?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Indeed. Magi are very different from one another and thus must be trained differently based on their Elements." Merlin turned around and held forth a small bowl filled with what looked like a few ground herbs in some strange liquid. "Drink this." He instructed and held it out to Shirou.

Shirou obediently took it and tipped the bowl back, draining the contents quickly. It tasted of earth but it was very bitter and a strange burning sensation welled up from his stomach as it went down his gullet. His head began to go fuzzy and his vision wavered. Soon the only thing he felt was heat.

Fire. Fire was all around him, the smoldering remains threatened to burn him alive. Hot. It was so hot. He heard the voices of the families trapped inside. Screaming. Help. They called for help. He couldn't do anything, he couldn't help them as much as he wanted to. It was Hell, plain and simple. It was a place of fire and death that stretched out as far as his eyes could see. The flames reached to the sky and turned the grey clouds red. His lungs filled with ash, tearing his throat apart. He collapsed, the sky stretched out before him. This time it was him calling for help, he reached his hands to the sky as if reaching for the heavens and he blacked out.

A beacon of light gleamed in the darkness, it came though it. Cutting through the darkness and the heat. A blade shined though. It was a beautiful sword, gold laid within the guard as well as several gems. The handle was smooth, almost like it was made from marble shined a bright blue. The long blade straight as an arrow was etched with strange markings, a long forgotten language in an intricate design. His vision went white.

"Gaaaah! Hah hah hah." Shirou yelled and gasped for air. His vision returned slowly and he found himself on the floor of Merlin's workshop. The old man was standing over him stroking his beard with a curious look on his face. "What the hell was that?" Shirou panted and looked up at the old man.

"That liquid you drank put you in a trance, and then I cast a simple spell on you to bring out your Element. Often there are memories inside a person that causes them to develop a specific Element, I simply brought them to light." Merlin explained and helped Shirou up off the floor.

"Then you saw all of that?" Shirou asked and allowed Merlin to help him off the floor and back into his chair.

Merlin nodded. "Indeed. However I did not understand all of what that was, would you care to explain?"

"That was the fire that killed my family. It was sudden, and to this day no one knows what caused it. The area in town is still a blackened graveyard, they didn't rebuild it or anything. That sword I saw was the only thing that really stuck in my mind, that and the people screaming in desperation for help." Shirou explained with a downed expression. The images were still engraved in his mind, they never really left. He often dreamed about the fire, waking up in a cold sweat.

"Hm." Merlin closed his eyes, crossed his arms and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Um... Merlin? What did you find out?" Shirou waved his hand in front of Merlin's face to try and snap him back to reality.

"I am not quite sure. Your Element appears to be "Swords". I have never seen anything quite like this before. It could be that it is an Element that is unique to you and you alone." Merlin explained and went deep into thought again.

After a few minutes of staring around the room Shirou saw Merlin finally look at him straight on. "This may require some more thought. Here." Merlin tossed Shirou one of the rolls from the previous night.

Shirou caught it easily in his hand. "What's going on?" He looked at Merlin curiously.

"You are free to go and do as you wish for now. It seems some things have come up that I need to take care of, I shall find you later." Merlin said and shooed Shirou out of his tower.

Shirou found himself in the garden again and he watched as Merlin headed into the castle. He took a bite of the roll in his hand and set off to explore the castle's grounds. This was the first time since he'd arrived that he had any sort of time to himself. It was sort of odd, seeing as he was with Merlin all the time but he didn't know when an opportunity like this would come gain so he might as well enjoy himself.

The garden looked just as it had earlier, butterflies were flying around and occasionally landing on flowers. Shirou walked around the castle to the side that he hadn't gotten to see yet. The hedges were high here and Shirou spotted a bench made of stone near what looked like a rear courtyard. It was a wide space where many beds of flowers were spread around. He went to sit down on the bench but found that it seemed to be occupied.

On the sun soaked bench lay a cat. It's golden coat gleamed in the sunlight. Now that Shirou approached and got a closer look he realized that it wasn't a cat at all. "W-why is something like that here?" He asked the cat that wasn't a cat. It was certainly as large as a house cat, but it looked too young to be an adult. There was only one animal that he could think of that had a coat that looked like that. Laying on this bench bathing in the sun light was a lion cub.

Upon hearing him speak the cub opened it's eyes and yawned, stretching out his paws in front of him revealing it's very sharp claws. It stood up and looked at Shirou curiously, tilting it's head and making a small mewling sound. It didn't seem like it was particularly dangerous, it was looking at him like he was a potential playmate rather than a potential meal. The cub may be young, but it's teeth and claws were sure to still be very sharp.

Taking a chance, he stepped a bit closer and sat down next to the lion. Shirou would never attempt this with a full grown lion, but he was banking on the fact that this little guy was used to people. It seemed his instinct was right as the cat...lion watched him but didn't seem scared or intimidated.

Quite the opposite in fact, the little cub walked over and stood right on Shirou's lap. "You must belong to the King, right? Is he nearby?" Shirou asked with a smile as he scratched the space between it's ears. It's fur wasn't particularly soft and it was more of a coarse feeling than anything else, completely different from the hair of a house cat. It looked up at him and purred loudly as he scratched it's head. Unfortunately it then decided to bring out it's claws and knead his legs like a pillow.

"Ah! Ow, dammit!" Shirou yelped and stood up, causing the lion to meow with displeasure as it was left with no choice but to jump to the ground. Shirou gritted his teeth, it felt like he'd had several small needles stabbed into his flesh. He looked down and saw that there were holes in his legs along with several small drops of blood oozing out of the wounds.

The little lion looked up at him apologetically as it stood on the grass, watching Shirou examine himself.

"Is someone there?" A voice called out and a woman stepped into view from around the opposite corner.

She was beautiful. Her flowing brunette hair ran down her back accentuated her long white dress and her brilliant sapphire eyes. There was only one person she could be.

"Um, are you possibly...?" Shirou asked hesitantly.

The woman tilted her head curiously. "Do you not know? I am Guinevere, the Queen." She said with a bright smile.

"My sincerest apologies!" Shirou bowed deeply and apologized.

To his surprise the Queen laughed. "It is quite all right. You are the new apprentice of Merlin are you not? I have heard quite a lot about you from His Majesty, The King." She walked forward, still smiling and took her seat on the bench near where Shirou was standing.

"Please sit down." She offered and motioned to the seat next to her. Shirou nervously sat down next to her. He wasn't quite sure what to say and he simply ended up watching the little lion cub chase a butterfly around the garden. "I see you have met Azif." She said kindly after looking at the small amount of blood on Shirou's legs. "You have my apologies, he is quite energetic is he not?" She said as she watched the cub play with a peaceful look on her face.

"Yeah, he seems like he's used to people. How did you come by something like a lion?" Shirou asked curiously.

"We see a lot of Merchants coming from far away lands, they often carry strange things. The King was very fond of this lion when he first saw it. Now we keep it here around the castle. Though he seems to like to get into trouble, we have had to replace several tapestries lately." Guinevere answered with a small giggle.

The two of them sat and talked about many things after that. Shirou explained how he came to be here, and everything that had happened since he'd arrived. Guinevere didn't seem to have as many questions as Merlin, maybe she was the type of person that just accepted things as they came. Either way she just sat and listened to Shirou's story.

"My, you are quite the interesting man." She said as Shirou finished.

Shirou heard the distinctive sound of an armored person walking on grass. A guard came around the corner and saw Shirou sitting with the Queen. "Step away from the Queen this instant!" The guard seemed to have jumped to conclusions and drew his sword and pointed it at Shirou, who froze in place.

"Would you kindly sheath your sword! I am here of my own free will, I happened to run into this man while taking a walk and we were simply discussing his circumstances." Guinevere stood up and barked angrily at the soldier.

"My apologies your Majesty." The soldier sheathed his sword and bowed.

"Goodness, I shall have to speak to the King and have him make it clear about how you treat guests within the castle." She heaved a sigh.

"Please excuse me, I am to take this man to the training grounds in the rear of the castle. Merlin has requested his presence." The soldier stood at attention.

"It seems we must part ways for now. If any of the castle soldiers harass you any longer, be sure and come straight to me." Guinevere said with a wink.

Shirou bid farewell to the Queen and left with the guard. He was led further into the back where there were several patches of barren land with nothing but dirt beneath their feet. It looked like there were several archery targets around, and in separate patches of dirt from the targets there were several more which looked like they were used for combat practice with edged weapons. The training area looked empty for now except for Merlin, who stood in one of the areas with Lancelot. It looked like they were talking about something.

Now that Shirou thought about it, it was the first time he'd seen Lancelot speak. He couldn't hear what they were talking about from this distance, but Lancelot's voice was hoarse and deep seeming to come from deep inside him.

"Sir, I have brought him." The guard said to the two of them upon approaching with Shirou in tow.

"You may leave." Lancelot let the soldier leave and then looked at Shirou with a blank expression as if he was studying him.

"So uh... why was I called out here?" Shirou asked, keeping his eyes on Lancelot.

"Have you ever held a sword before?" Merlin asked abruptly.

"Not really. I've used a bow before though, I was one of the best in the Archery Club at school." Shirou scratched the back of his head.

The two of them looked at Shirou curiously, not understanding a word of what he'd said. After a few seconds Merlin cleared his throat. "That being the case, I have determined it best that you become adept at using a blade. Your Element is that of Swords, so we should attune your body to that as much as possible. It will help you better understand your Element." Merlin explained.

Shirou looked back to Lancelot. "That must explain why we're out here."

Lancelot nodded. "Indeed. His Majesty is the best swordsman in the land, however seeing as he has been occupied as of late I will be teaching you at Merlin's request." He said without emotion.

"What does he have to say about all of this? Isn't it strange for a Knight to train a stranger how to use a sword?" It did seem very strange, Shirou thought he would surely be killed sooner or later but it seemed as though the King and the others decided to keep him alive. Perhaps to study him and learn about the future, Shirou didn't know.

"He sees something in you, though he will not say exactly what. His Majesty has been meaning to meet with you more personally, but things have been not going according to plan and he has been preoccupied." Lancelot spoke as if he was thinking about something else. It seems he knew more about what these "things" were but perhaps he wasn't able to speak about it.

"And that is how it is. Sir Lancelot will train your body, and I will train your mind." Merlin said rather cheerfully. "Please make certain he is able to walk to my tower after you are finished with him Sir Knight." Merlin walked away, leaving Lancelot and Shirou alone together.

"Take up a sword, and prepare yourself. I will fight you as I would an enemy and get a feeling for how you defend yourself." Lancelot instructed, drawing his large blade from it's sheath at his hip.

Shirou did as he was told, there was a wooden rack on the outside of the ring that held a couple of swords. They were worn out from being used, and they were barely sharp at all. Shirou grabbed the leather handle and lifted it up. It felt strangely familar to hold something like this in his hand, the slight weight he felt didn't bother him at all as he returned to face Lancelot.

He looked at Lancelot's sword again, he had plenty of time to examine it. His brain seemed to heat up when he saw it again, information began to flow into his brain. Information he didn't understand, it was like he was memorizing the sword itself. He shook the feeling off and raised the tip towards the knight in front of him.

Shirou shuffled his feet which signaled the start of the match. Lancelot charged Shirou. A great black bullet came right for him raising his sword over his head to spit Shirou's skull open. Lancelot's eyes went from being calm to having a fire in them so bright that Shirou could practically feel the eat. He really was treating Shirou as an enemy.

Shirou raised his sword to block the blow. Lancelot's sword collided with it like a hammer, sending sparks raining down on Shirou's body. The blow was so hard he had almost been forced to his knees.

"You are frightened." Lancelot pointed out as Shirou raised his sword at him. Lancelot grabbed Shirou's wrist and extended his right leg, kicking Shirou in the shin and sending him off balance. Using the momentum Lancelot twisted his arm and Shirou was sent to the ground on his back. Shirou looked up at him and Lancelot flicked the tip of his blade to Shirou's throat. "If you are frightened, you will die." He growled and backed away.

Shirou got to his feet and tried to clear his head. He took a deep breath and this time he took the initiative and charged Lancelot. Shirou swung his blade at Lancelot's torso. Lancelot raised his blade and blocked it lazily, he deftly spun the blade the other direction and stopped with the blade centimeters from Shirou's neck. "If you misread your enemy, you will die." Lancelot growled again and kicked Shirou away. "You must think ahead, you must predict where and how your enemy will attack you."

Lancelot's training was definitely strict, he was literally beating his teachings into Shirou's body. If Shirou made a mistake, Lancelot would make it a point of telling him exactly what it was and how to correct it. However Shirou was never able to block Lancelot's blade more than twice even after several hours of training.

"If you hesitate, you will die." Lancelot growled again after he'd feinted and Shirou was puzzled how to react. "If you do not know how your enemy will act, defend yourself until you find an opportunity to attack." He looked at Shirou who was now very bruised up. Whenever he'd messed up, Lancelot was sure to give him a non-fatal blow somewhere on his body.

Lancelot looked at Shirou panting on the ground and sheathed his sword. "That is enough for now. I suggest you rest yourself for a few minutes before heading to Merlin's tower. I expect to see you here tomorrow at the same time." Lancelot's cold bloodlust dissipated and he'd returned to normal. It seemed like he became a completely different person when fighting, like he was letting out a beast that he normally kept hidden. He left Shirou panting on the ground and walked away after telling him to come back the next day.

Shirou picked himself up off the cold ground and returned the sword to the rack. He looked up at the sky, it looked like it was afternoon by now but there were no clocks anywhere so he didn't know exactly what time it was. He had been getting beaten up by Lancelot for several hours. Heaving a sigh he started to make his way over towards Merlin's tower.

"Come in lad, take a seat." Merlin greeted Shirou when he entered the top room. Shirou did as he was told. "You look like you enjoyed yourself." Merlin said with a grin.

Shirou frowned at Merlin's bad joke. "He's rough..."

"Well, let us get straight to business shall we?" Merlin clapped his hands together. Merlin began to explain how Shirou was going to be trained. He explained that when he first met Shirou in the dungeons he caught him meditating. Merlin somehow knew what it was that Shirou was doing, and asked him to explain where he learned something like that.

"My father taught me, since I have no Magic Circuits I have to make one every time." Shirou explained.

Merlin frowned and shook his head. Clearly disappointed. "You do have Magic Circuits, quite a lot of them as it were."

"What? Then why is it that every time I try to do strengthening magic I fail?" Shirou looked surprised.

"It is because you have never used them before correct? If you have been using the technique your father taught you, so you have never activated your Magic Circuits before. They are weak, and cannot control prana very well." Merlin explained.

"And how are we going to fix that?"

"First I want you to use this strengthening magic on that chair you are sitting on." Merlin instructed.

Shirou closed his eyes, feeling the familiar burning sensation like he was inserting a hot iron rod into his spine. Gritting his teeth and bearing the pain he reached his hand down and grabbed the leg of the stool he was sitting on. "Trace, On." He took a breath and visualized the structure of the chair, all the holes and the flaws within it. He started pouring his prana channeled through the self made Magic Circuit into the chair, filling all the holes and flaws in the chair thus strengthening it. However he must have done something wrong, as he heard a snapping sound and he fell to the floor.

"Hmm." Merlin made a dissatisfied noise like a sigh.

"Sorry about that." Shirou stood up and started to pick up the pieces of the broken stool.

Merlin crossed his arms. "It is quite all right, I had anticipated something like that." He saw something odd about one of the broken legs of Shirou's chair. "Would you mind letting me take a look at that?" Merlin asked curiously.

"Yeah sure, I was just going to take it home and burn it anyway." Shirou said with a shrug and handed over one of the legs.

Merlin held up the broken side and examined it, scratching a bit off the splinters with his finger and stroking his beard curiously.

"Is it really that interesting?" Shirou asked. "It's just a broken piece of wood right?"

"That is where you are wrong. You can tell quite a bit about a person by the small amounts of magic they leave behind." Merlin explained, not taking his eyes off of the chair.

"Really? Like what?"

"What you are doing is not strengthening magic." Merlin answered simply.

"So what you're telling me is that my father has been lying about everything this entire time? Everything he taught me was wrong?" Shirou shouted. He couldn't accept that. Kiritsugu Emiya wasn't a person that would lie to him like that. He was a person Shirou trusted and looked up too, how could this person who didn't even know him say that he was a liar?

"Calm down boy, I mean no disrespect to your father. However that does not change the fact that he must have deceived you in some way, everything he taught you IS wrong and if you do not change you will kill yourself." Merlin explained harshly.

Shirou plopped down onto the floor and heaved a sigh. What had he been doing all his life? Why would his father lie like that? Did he know that if Shirou kept doing what he was taught then he could end up dead? So many questions were rolling through his head, none of which he had any kind of answer for.

"You look horrible lad." Merlin leaned in closer to Shirou, but he wasn't in any kind of a mood to have a chat with Merlin right now. "Very well then, I give you leave for today. Go and clear your head, and we shall get a fresh start tomorrow. It seems you have a lot on your mind." He said with a gentle smile like an old man would give his grandchild.

Shirou got up and strolled out of the tower without a word. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" He said to himself as he stepped out into the late afternoon air and stared up at the sky, the clouds moving across it slowly. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Merlin had suggested that he could take a walk, but it might take all his strength just to make it back to his shoddy little house. Now that he realized it, he'd left the broken chair in Merlin's tower, not that he really cared at the moment.

Having nothing better to do, Shirou figured he may as well go and get an early rest. He left the castle without even realizing it and before he knew it he was back home. It seemed he'd be spending a lot of his time in Camelot in the days coming, now that he wasn't there though he hoped that Merlin was researching for a way to return him home. It had been nearly two days since he'd arrived, and things were already starting to look bad. He shuffled in his door, ignoring the commotion the townspeople were making and threw himself onto the bed.

He let his arm hang lazily off the edge as he simply lie there. Despite all the noise outside, inside Shirou's house seemed rather peaceful. There were no hum of machines, no noise of a television, no artificial light. The only light that came through the glassless windows was the dim sunlight, giving the house a warm feeling. It almost felt too quiet, the things he missed the most were the sounds of Sakura in the kitchen and the noise that Fuji-nee made constantly.

His body ached and his brain burned like fire. The worst part about all this is, he had nothing here. He was alone. Merlin was simply his teacher, and an old Magus. Sir Lancelot would probably call him a coward, and Guinevere was the Queen. Shirou couldn't very well bother people like that with his own problems. He sighed and closed his eyes, but the only thing he could see was that beautiful sword he recalled in his dreams.


	7. Seeds of Doubt

ACT VII - Seeds of Doubt

Shirou Emiya woke up suddenly in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. He'd had that dream again. The dream where he was standing in a sea of flames. He'd been having it quite frequently since Merlin told him about his Element. He got up and splashed a bit of water on his face from a basin which he kept on his table. By his own count it had most likely been about a week since his training had started.

The first thing Merlin started teaching him was how to activate his proper magic circuits. Luckily the way he explained it was pretty easy and Shirou was able to do it within a couple of hours. He imagined the firing pin of a gun in his head. It seemed like a good enough metaphor for activating his Circuits. Though Merlin wouldn't let him leave his tower until Shirou had mastered it, which left him quite worn out that day.

The next thing on Merlin's list was teaching him how to track traces of magic left in the air. Shirou had not managed to successfully complete this course yet, which frustrated Merlin because he was convinced he should be able to master the technique in a couple of days. He was supposed to be able to visualize it as many ribbons in the air, by following a certain color he was supposed to be able to track any Magus. So far Shirou could only see the ribbons, but he was unable to focus on what color they were. This ended in many failed hide and seek games with Merlin.

Lancelot's training had become more vigorous. He was forced to improve a little every day, and if he didn't he would receive a severe beating from the black knight. There were a couple of days where he had to rest in the infirmary in the castle until he was fully recovered. Often Lancelot would stop the training early and run off somewhere. Where exactly it was he went was a complete mystery to Shirou, but it wasn't like it was his duty to train Shirou so he didn't want to complain too much.

It didn't seem like Merlin was making progress on a way to send Shirou home either. Every time Shirou asked about it Merlin would just tell him to focus on his studies and leave the issue alone. At least the castle town was starting to warm up to him a little bit. Even the girls he saw across the street brought him over another set of clothes, presumably home made. He wasn't exactly sure what to say to them so he simply thanked them.

He met with the King briefly the previous day while passing by in the castle. He assured Shirou that he was going to find some time to speak to him the next day. That was today. For the longest time he didn't see the King at all, perhaps he went out to check on things elsewhere in the country and that was why he was so busy.

Shirou rushed out his door and waved to the two girls across the street who had previously introduced themselves as Lina and Elise. They were both quite young and pretty and were the first members of the village to say more than a word to Shirou. Both of them were about the same height and build except that Lina had long blonde hair and brown eyes while Elise had shoulder length red hair with emerald green eyes. Shirou also found out that the bakery Merlin visited was ran by Elise and her father, whom Shirou had not yet met.

Shirou walked up the dirt road to the castle. The guards let him in as usual. After the scolding from the Queen the guards began to treat him more like a guest instead of a prisoner. He'd have to remember to thank her the next time the two of them ran into each other, by yelling at that guard the other day his daily life had greatly improved. Before he could barely walk around at all without hearing "What are you doing here?" or "People like you should go back to where you came from." Perhaps they just needed to warm up to him, though it seemed they didn't take kindly to foreigners.

He hurried to the practice ring where for some reason a large crowd of people were gathered. Normally the place was pretty empty, so it was strange for so many people to be here suddenly like this. Well, as long as it didn't affect his training with Lancelot he didn't really care what was going on. However he had to admit he was a little curious. Approaching the ring one of the men turned around.

"Oi, he's here!" He shouted and grabbed Shirou by the arm.

"Hey! What the hell's going on?" Shirou protested as he was dragged through the crowd. He was stopped at the edge and pushed onto the dirt arena.

"Good morning, Emiya Shirou."

Standing at the opposite end of the arena adjusting the steel gauntlet on their right hand was the King himself fully armored and ready for combat.

Shirou bowed. "Morning your Majesty. What's going on here? Where's Lancelot?"

Arthur focused his attention on Shirou. "I have sent Sir Lancelot on an errand. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what you have learned so far. I promised to meet with you today did I not?"

Shirou was a little unsure. "You sure? If for some reason I managed to hurt you wouldn't that be bad?"

The crowd roared.

"Injure the King? This bloke is mad!" One man yelled.

Arthur's expression didn't change at all. "Do not worry, at your level you cannot hope to touch me." He said confidently with practically no emotion.

So now he was going to be beaten up in front of the entire castle. Great. Heaving a sigh Shirou walked over to the sword rack and grabbed the blade he normally used. Returning to the center he faced Arthur and raised his blade.

"Do not hold back. Come at me with everything you have, I want to see how good of a teacher Sir Lancelot is." Arthur said and drew his sword from his hip.

It was the first time Shirou had seen it. If he really was King Arthur then that sword could be no other than the legendary Excalibur. Shirou stared at the blade for some moments, the blade was etched in runes and the guard was inlaid with gold. The handle was blue almost as it was made from marble. It looked similar to the blade Shirou kept seeing in his dreams, however Excalibur looked very different from that one. Shirou would even go as far to say that Excalibur didn't suit Arthur's small body and that the one from his dreams would have been better.

Shirou charged. He had to push the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn't think about that he was fighting King Arthur or that it was Excalibur that was clashing into his own sword. Those thoughts alone would make him go crazy. Lancelot always kept telling him to clear his mind. If he kept telling himself that the person facing him was better than him, then it would be so. Sword fighting was as much a battle with yourself as it is with the other person.

Clear all unnecessary thoughts. If you think the enemy is better than you, then he will be. Do not think about who your opponent is, you must be at your best at all times. If you're facing a powerful opponent, fight him as you would fight anyone else. That's what Lancelot told him. Surely Arthur would be powerful, he didn't wield Excalibur as a fashion statement. He was said to be one of the single best swordsmen in the west.

Shirou grit his teeth. "Forget it." He told himself. He took a breath and cleared his head. Arthur attacked this time. He swung Excalibur at Shirou's side. _Do not think. Your instincts will protect you._ Shirou raised his sword, blocking the blow to his ribs. He swung his sword, aiming to remove one of Arthur's arms. The blow was of course easily parried and for his effort Shirou received Arthur's elbow in his chest.

The crowd roared as Shirou staggered back. _Learn to switch off your pain. If you flinch from a single blow then you will die._ Shirou grit his teeth and shook his head. Raising his sword over his head he came at Arthur again. After several minutes of exchanging blows with Arthur he'd lived up to his reputation. Shirou wasn't able to land a single blow, and of course Arthur landed plenty himself. He'd received quite a few bruises but he was still more gentle than Lancelot would have been. Just as Shirou was about to have another try their sparring was interrupted.

"Your Majesty we have an intruder at the gate!"

"Follow me!" Arthur shouted and he ran off towards the gate, the guards in the audience followed.

"Intruder? Why didn't the guards take care of them?" Shirou thought out loud and followed Arthur and the soldiers. He ran though the side garden, sword still in his hand. In the commotion he'd forgotten to put it back. He heard lots of shouting coming from the front gate. When he rounded the corner what he saw gave him a horrible flashback of the flames that destroyed his home.

He saw red. Blood. Bodies. Entrails. Strewn about the courtyard haphazardly like trash. On the top of the gate hung half a torso swinging back and forth like some kind of sick wind chime. Blood dripped from the man's eyes and mouth into his helmet that lay below him. Who could do something like that? Shirou dropped to his knees and covered his mouth, trying to stop himself from throwing up. He swore he could hear a woman laughing amidst the crimson stained grass at the gate of the castle.

Shirou took a deep breath and swallowed, he'd broken out into a sweat and forced himself to his feet. The guards that had attacked the woman appeared as though they exploded, halves of bodies and chunks of flesh flew everywhere the moment a soldier got within weapon range. It looked like even Arthur didn't want to approach her casually. The woman wore a black robe with a hood and her eyes were a bright green and looked like they were almost glowing.

Shirou gripped his sword and took a step forward. As he was about to join the King he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You had better stay where you are lad." Merlin walked passed Shirou and headed towards the gate.

"Merlin, thank the heavens you have arrived." Arthur said as he and the woman had been squaring off.

"Oh, it seems His Majesty's pet Magus has arrived. Hello Merlin." The woman smiled and greeted Merlin casually.

"Pet you say? I believe that I am quite well off here compared to you. Is that cave you call a workshop still meeting your needs?" Merlin grinned.

"You are not welcome here Morgana Le Fay. I suggest you take your leave, surely you do not think you can defeat us here." Arthur gripped Excalibur tighter.

Morgana chuckled. "I heard you obtained someone interesting. I simply came to have a look at him."

Morgana Le Fay. Shirou had to wrack his brain for the name. He recalled it as being one of ancient England's most notorious villains. She was a renowned sorceress and very adept in the more sinister kinds of magic.

"What I do here should be of no concern to you, Witch." Arthur growled.

"Is that the boy there?" Morgana asked, peeking over Merlin's shoulder to look directly at Shirou.

Arthur moved to defend Shirou immediately.

Morgana chuckled. "He certainly does not seem very interesting other than he is a foreigner. Poor quality Circuits. Ha! I shall never know what goes through your head."

"If that is all I would suggest that you take your leave. You are fortunate that I have not burnt you where you stand." Merlin glared at her.

"There is but one more thing. I have caught wind of something interesting." Morgana turned towards Arthur.

"There is nothing you can say that would interest me." Arthur growled.

"Your Knight Lancelot has been disappearing lately has he not? Do you not wonder where it is he is going?" Morgana's lips curled into a sinister grin.

"..." Arthur said nothing.

"You should keep a closer eye on your Queen. She is not the Lady you think she is."

"How dare you!" Arthur roared angrily, his arms were shaking. Not out of fear but out of pure anger. He was holding himself back.

"Those who insult Lady Guinevere shall pay the penalty. That of course being death. I will burn you like a common Witch." Merlin's hands burst into flames. Holding his hands out a pillar of flame shot from his palms much like a flamethrower. The flames shot towards where Morgana was standing and exploded violently.

Morgana's voice could be heard cackling loudly over the roar of the fire. A wind based spell cleared the flames away in an instant. Morgana wasn't there however where she was standing was a simple looking drinking horn made from what looked like bone.

_"If you ever grow suspicious of your beloved Queen have her drink from that. A traitorous woman cannot drink from that without spilling. I shall see you again soon... Arturia."_ Morgana's laughing voice echoed through the castle courtyard until it faded from existence and it went silent.

"What was that she said? Arturia?" Shirou asked and approached Merlin and Arthur.

"Now is not the time lad, forget you ever heard that." Merlin hushed him.

Arthur stood silent for a few moments, Excalibur still clutched loosely in his fist. He was staring at the horn that lay on the ground before him. "Merlin, is it dangerous?" He asked finally.

Merlin cautiously approached the object, knelt down and touched it. "It does not appear to be enchanted, cursed, or otherwise tampered with." Merlin picked the horn up off the ground and ran his finger around the edge, then brought it to his nose and smelled it. "It has not been poisoned either. It seems that witch really did intend for you to use this." He picked the object up and stood up. "Shall I destroy it your Majesty?" He asked.

Arthur sheathed Excalibur and extended his hand. "I will take it."


	8. A Knight's Errand

ACT VIII - A Knight's Errand

After the incident with Morgana the castle was on high alert. There seemed to be more guards than usual around Camelot and even in town. At the front gate there was still a bit of scorched earth where Merlin had burnt the ground. That had been the first time Shirou had ever seen him use any kind of offensive magic. He could still recall the heat even though he had been standing a couple of yards away.

It had been a couple of days since then and things took on a different kind of atmosphere. Shirou continued his training with Lancelot and Merlin as usual. He wasn't able to concentrate on magic even though he was finally able to switch on his magic circuits and track various kinds of prana in the air at will. Shirou felt pretty pleased with himself even though Merlin kept reminding him that even a child raised in a Magus family could do this.

Shirou's training with Lancelot seemed a bit different than usual. He didn't seem to be as fierce as he had been previously, like there was something else on his mind. Because of this Shirou was gradually able to trade more blows with him then he ever had before, even though he still had no hope of actually beating him.

"You are progressing well. That will be all for today." Lancelot sheathed his sword and left after those final words as usual.

Shirou heaved a sigh and tossed his sword back on the rack. "What is he thinking believing a person like that." He clenched his teeth when he thought about what happened with Morgana. He couldn't help but remember the time he'd talked with Guinevere in the garden. She didn't seem like a person who would be unfaithful to anyone, let alone the King. Was there some other reason behind it?

Another strange thing was Morgana's parting words. She'd referred to the King as Arturia rather than Arthur. Was there some kind of meaning to that? Why would that witch say that? Shirou's head hurt when he thought about it. He laid down in the dirt where he stood and stared up at the sky.

"It's completely different here." The clouds moved slowly across the grey sky that looked like it could rain soon. Even covered by clouds the sky looked unfamiliar.

"What are you doing out here lad? Hurry and get inside, we have much to discuss today." Merlin's voice interrupted Shirou's thinking.

"Merlin?" Shirou sat up and looked behind him to find Merlin standing there watching him.

"I overheard something interesting that I would like to share with you. Come on."

With that Shirou accompanied Merlin as they walked towards his tower. "You do know how magic makes its way out of a Magus's body do you not?" He finally asked once they reached the tower.

Shirou nodded. "The Magus uses the prana in his body to will the spell into being, like you shooting fire the other day."

"Good enough, but do you think that is only limited to things which do not have form? For example Fire, Water, Ice, Shadow, and Spirits?" Merlin asked.

"I... don't know. If it is possible it would be very difficult to make a solid object." Shirou thought for a moment. Strengthening is one thing, but making an entire object from scratch? If it is possible it would be made out of pure prana and it would disappear quickly once it came into contact with the air.

"There is a magic called Projection. The Magus can form is prana into a solid object. You seem to be adept at determining the structure of objects, therefore your specialty should be in Projection." Merlin explained.

"You mean I can make weapons?"

"Indeed. To do this, you will have to memorize the structure of a weapon. If you are able to do that, then projecting it should be easy. In theory anyway." Merlin didn't seem too sure.

Shirou recalled the first time he saw Lancelot's sword. He could tell there was more to it than just the structure. If he created a weapon like that it would just be hollow with no soul or feelings at all. Lancelot's real weapon had feelings, Shirou could sense them. If he could copy those then maybe...

"Any weapon I want?" Shirou asked.

Merlin shook his head. "You have not been listening to me. Your Magic Circuits are of very poor quality even though you have a lot of them. Prana does not flow easily through them due to them never being used until now. I believe the only weapons you would be able to project for now would be swords, anything other than that would require more prana. Your Element is Swords, therefore projecting a sword or edged weapon would require almost no prana."

"But still... I can do something like make weapons?" Shirou asked again.

Merlin got up from his seat and retrieved the sword that was hanging on his back wall. He walked back to his seat and sat down in front of Shirou with the sword over his lap. "Here, hold this for a minute." Merlin held out the sword.

Shirou took it, when he touched the cold steel he felt a pulse go through his body. This blade was special, it had some kind of magical property. He could feel something from it. The blade was about three feet long, the guard was thin but very strong and each end of it ended it an emerald. The emeralds on the end were filled with Merlin's magical energy. Shirou remembered Merlin saying something about storing magical energy in gems for later use. On the end of the hilt there was another larger emerald, also filled with magic.

The blade seemed to have an aura about it, when Shirou closed his eyes he felt that the blade would glow blue the color of Merlin's own aura. Just by feeling it, Shirou could tell the blade hadn't gotten much use yet as he couldn't feel any specific experience from it like he could from Excalibur and Lancelot's sword.

"You can tell there's something on that blade can't you?" Merlin asked with a smile.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah."

"You see those runes there?" Merlin pointed along the blade where there were indeed several runes. "Those allow the blade to cut through any magical defense like a hot knife through butter." He announced proudly.

"But you've never used it right?"

Merlin's eyes grew a bit wider. "Yes that is true but how did you know that?"

Shirou shrugged. "I don't really know. Just a feeling I got."

"Do you think you are able to project it?" Merlin asked.

"I'll try." Shirou said, a bit unsure.

"Do or do not. There is no try."

Shirou nodded. Merlin was right. This was either going to succeed or fail, no half way. Shirou took a breath and cleared his head, which was the first step in casting any kind of magic. Merlin said he had to visualize the structure of the weapon and project it out. However whenever Shirou held a sword he felt there was something more to it, something missing. It was everything the sword had seen, battles, experiences, owners. Shirou was sure what he was feeling was the sword's soul. Anything projected without those experiences would just be an empty shell.

Merlin always told him to develop magic one must always be willing to go a step further than normal, otherwise magic would never progress. Shirou couldn't allow that sword to be brought into this world without a soul, so he would put it there. "Trace, On." Shirou muttered the words his father taught him, the words that allowed him to see the structure of objects.

His body grew hot as he felt the magic flow through his body. The image of Merlin's sword came to the front of his mind. He could see it just as clear as when his eyes were open. He could see every detail, the runes, the aura around it, the emeralds on the guard and the hilt. He channeled the prana as best he could out through his arm and into his hand.

"Open your eyes boy." He heard Merlin tell him.

Shirou opened them, from his hand he saw a bright glowing light and the half finished sword. "Wow..." Shirou muttered. Unfortunately upon seeing it he was unable to concentrate fully because of his amazement and the translucent outline of the sword faded away and he lost control.

"You cannot lose concentration lad. If you do that in the middle of combat you will be killed without hesitation." Merlin sighed, a bit disappointed.

"Sorry."

"That is fine. We will just keep practicing until you get it right." Merlin crossed his arms.

"Right." Shirou nodded, a bit disheartened that he wasn't able to do it right away. That surely would have impressed Merlin.

A loud banging came from Merlin's front door. "Lord Merlin, His Majesty requests your audience." A guard's voice came through the door.

"Goodness me." Merlin got up and rushed towards the door, opening it and looking at the door. "I shall be there right away."

"King Arthur also requests that you bring your Apprentice." He looks through the door, though there wasn't anything in that room but stairs that led to Merlin's actual workshop.

"Well come on boy!" Merlin shouts up the stairs.

"Y-Yes sir!" Shirou hurried down to Merlin's side and followed the guard across the rear courtyard and into the castle.

The guards inside had doubled due to Morgana's little visit the other day. They were led though the front and into the back of the dimly lit castle to the throne room. The guards near the throne were heavily armored and wielded large poleaxes. At the back on the throne sat Arthur and by his side was a knight who's armor was hidden by a cloak, but his face was stern. His long white hair billowed down his back and his fierce green eyes watched Merlin and Shirou enter the room.

"Sir! I have brought them." The guard stood at attention.

"You may leave." Arthur spoke and gave the guard leave to go.

"My Lord." Both Merlin and Shirou knelt.

"Please rise. There is something that I require your help with." Arthur said, his voice seemed to carry quite nicely through the throne room. The knight that stood by Arthur's side stayed silent.

"I assure you if it is within our power my apprentice and I would be honored." Merlin bowed.

"There is a farming village to the south where Camelot receives the majority of its wheat comes from. We have lost contact with them. To send an armed squad might cause unwanted trouble, so I have decided that it would be better to send a small number of skilled individuals." Arthur explained.

"I see, if an armed guard were to show up in a village where nothing is wrong it could cause a panic. You want to sent the boy and I?" Merlin asked.

"No, I want to send your apprentice." Arthur said flatly.

"Me? Alone?" Shirou asked flabbergasted.

"Of course not, you will have an escort."

"Your Majesty your forces are spread thin defending across our land on the lookout for Morgana. Who would escort a mere apprentice on this quest?" The knight next to Arthur said suddenly.

"You will." Arthur looked up at the knight beside him.

"Surely Sir Lancelot or Sir Galahad would-" The knight didn't seem at all pleased.

"Emiya Shirou, I do not believe you have met Sir Bedivere." Merlin motioned towards the angry looking knight by Arthur's side.

"It's an honor. It seems like we'll be working together." Shirou bowed politely.

"Surely the boy's Master would like to accompany us?" Bedivere asked Merlin.

Merlin smiled widely. "I think not. This will be a good opportunity I think. Just remember everything Sir Lancelot and I have taught you thus far."

"Very good, then the two of you shall leave immediately. I wager you will be able to make it there by nightfall." Arthur nodded and sounded satisfied.

"Do I have any say in this?" Shirou asked.

Merlin clapped Shirou on the shoulder and grinned brightly. "None at all." He said before leaving the throne room leaving Shirou with Arthur and Bedivere.

()()()

After Merlin left Sir Bedivere and Shirou made their way over to the stables. Shirou had never ridden a horse before but he'd better try his best or Bedivere would surely be displeased with him.

Bedivere strode through the stables and went to a horse that was presumably his. The horse lowered it's head and Bedivere petted it. Just by looking he could tell that the knight shared a special bond with his horse and together they had seen much.

"That's your horse isn't it?" Shirou asked curiously trying to make conversation.

Bedivere nodded. "Indeed." He replied flatly as he slipped a bridle over it's head and led it out of it's paddock. Shirou watched as Bedivere saddled the horse and put a blanket as well as a pack of supplies he'd brought with him on the back.

"Ah good you have not left yet." Merlin's voice could be heard behind Shirou. Shirou turned around to find Merlin standing there with a long object wrapped in cloth.

"What's up Merlin?" Shirou asked, a bit puzzled as to why he'd be here.

"My apologies, I overlooked the fact that you do not yet own a weapon or a horse of your own." Merlin bowed.

"That's all right, you can't exactly just give someone a horse right?" Horses must be worth quite a lot, much like cars. They were highly valued otherwise people would only have their feet to get around.

"That is why I came to lend you this." Merlin unwrapped the object in his hand and revealed a sword in a simple leather scabbard. Shirou recognized it instantly as the magic sword from Merlin's tower.

Shirou took it when Merlin held it out.

"The sword is yours, however I expect you to return my horse." Merlin said as he brought his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Out of one of the paddocks came a pure white horse, both it's mane and tail were like fallen slow. The horse trotted directly up to Merlin and snorted.

Merlin reached out his hand and petted it's snout. "Bear my student safely on his journey." He whispered to the horse and then turned back to Shirou. "His name is Orpheus. Please treat him well."

Shirou nodded. "I will, thank you." He buckled the sword and scabbard around his waist.

Merlin helped Shirou saddle Orpheus. Now came mounting him. Shirou had never mounted a horse before, but he'd seen plenty of movies and TV shows and figured he could imitate it well enough. He put his left foot in the stirrup and swung his leg over, landing firmly on the center of the leather saddle.

"Are you finally prepared to leave?" Bedivere asked, who had been watching silently from atop his chestnut colored horse until now.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."

Bedivere clicked his tongue and the horse trotted out of the stables and into the courtyard. Shirou copied him and Orpheus followed Bedivere across the lawn and out the front gate.

"Shirou!" As they entered town Shirou heard his name called out. He looked to the side to find both Lina and Elise trotting up to him. "Greetings my Lord." They greeted Bedivere first, who only nodded in response.

"You are off with Sir Bedivere then Shirou? No doubt on some big quest from the King yes?" Lina asked cheerfully as she jogged alongside the horses.

"Please do be careful Shirou. I would hate for you not to be able to stop by the shop again." Elise said as her red hair bounced up and down as she jogged with Lina.

"Oh I wish I could travel alongside a Knight of the Round Table." Lina clapped her hands together hopefully like she was wishing for it.

Shirou chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I'll be back soon, I promise." He assured them when they'd reached the edge of the castle town.

The two girls stopped at the edge of town and wouldn't go any further, but they stood and saw Shirou off by waving to him.

"Tell us a story when you come back alright?" Lina called after him.

"Yes please, we wish to hear of your adventure with Sir Bedivere!" Elise called.

"You seem very well liked." Bedivere almost looked like he was a little jealous.

"Does it seem that way? Those two live across the street from me, they were the first two people in the village to really talk to me." Shirou replied with a smile.

"They are a lovely pair of young girls. Are you courting them?" Bedivere asked as the horses trotted along side by side.

Shirou's cheeks turned beet red. "N-No of course not." He stammered. They were indeed both very pretty, but Shirou didn't have any time to think about romance. His only focus at the moment was getting home, he could only hope that while he was away Merlin could make some sort of progress in figuring something out.

"You spend quite a bit of time with King Arthur don't you?" Shirou asked.

"Yes, I must always be near the King as I am his adviser." Bedivere replied.

"What's he like?"

"He seems unhappy..." Bedivere seemed almost sad when he said it.

"Unhappy?" Shirou tilted his head.

"In the many years I have served him, never once have I seen the King smile or laugh."

"You seem troubled by that." Shirou pointed out.

"It is... disheartening. Why should the King not be allowed to be happy? Why should he not be allowed to smile?" Shirou could hear the sound of Bedivere gritting his teeth.

"Who said that he can't?" Shirou asked.

"He himself says these things. I believe he hides his emotions. He does what he does because it is his duty, not because it his his choice. I think this is the reason that he does not understand his people." Bedivere's head drooped.

"That pisses me off. You say he acts that way because he has to? Don't give me that crap! There's no rule that says a King can't be happy or cheerful." Shirou growled.

Bedivere chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Shirou asked, a little annoyed.

"You are beginning to sound like Sir Kay. He says that he never should have pulled the sword from that stone and become King, that he should have lived a normal life." Bedivere smiled faintly. Now that Shirou saw him like this, he almost thought Bedivere looked like a girl. His figure was slim, no access muscle and his hair was long. If it weren't for his stern expression he could pass for a woman.

The two fell silent after that. The grassy countryside stretched out before them and about three hours after they'd left it had started to rain.

"We should get out of this." Bedivere suggested and turned towards a rocky cliffside.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to catch a cold traveling in this." Shirou tugged on the horse's reins and followed Bedivere. It looked like he knew where he was going and Shirou had absolutely no idea. Bedivere soon led him to a rocky cliff face. There was an opening inside that led between them, luckily it was large enough for the horses to pass through.

"I was sure it was around here..." Bedivere mumbled and walked his horse a bit slower. About ten minutes later there was an opening in the rock face. Bedivere led Shirou into a cave in the side of the rock face. It was quite deep, large enough for the horses and even the two of them with plenty of room to spare.

"This is great..." Shirou mumbled as he looked around the cave.

"We were lucky. If we had passed these cliffs before it had started to rain there would be no reffuge from it." Bedivere said as he dismounted.

Shirou dismounted as well and stepped onto the cold yet dry rock floor.

Bedivere looked up at Shirou. "There are some supplies on the pack of my horse including some spare wood. If it is dry enough would you please start a fire?" He asked as he disappeared further into the cave. By the sound of the echo of Bedivere's voice, the cave could be part of a system meaning there might even be a river running through here somewhere.

Shirou did as he was told and dug a pile of sticks out of Bedivere's pack as well as a couple of rocks that Shirou figured must be flint. He almost expected matches or a lighter but then he remembered where he was. He piled the sticks up a good way away from the horses so not to spook them. Shirou couldn't even hear Bedivere anymore once he started to grind the rocks together to make sparks.

Soon a small crackling fire was started and Shirou had removed his shirt to dry it next to the fire. "Sir Bedivere?" Shirou called into the black cave.

"Yes?" Bedivere answered seemingly quite far off.

"What are you doing back there? I've made the fire." Shirou asked.

"Yes, I can see it from here. Thank you." Bedivere called back.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing?"

"There is a spring back here, I am bathing." Bedivere said plainly.

"In that case do you mind if I join you?" Shirou asked. It had been a couple of days since he had a bath. Normally he did it in the river near the castle town, but he was a bit apprehensive about it since it was such an open area. He couldn't be picky now.

There was a short silence before Bedivere replied. "Do as you wish."

Shirou reached and grabbed a handful of sticks from the fire as sort of a makeshift torch and began to make his way towards the sound of Bedivere's voice. Shirou heard the sound of water and found the knight easily enough. His armor and clothing were scattered around the edge of the pool that was maybe six feet in diameter.

"Why did you bring that?" Bedivere asked, hiding his body under the dark water as he looked up at Shirou.

"I didn't want to trip and fall, I could really get hurt in here." Shirou replied and set the torch down. He stripped his clothes and slipped into the water as Bedivere averted his eyes from Shirou.

"Ahh this feels good. Though I am going to miss hot showers." Shirou sighed.

"What is a shower?" Bedivere tilted his head curiously.

Shirou tried to think of a way to explain it so he could understand. "It's sort of like controlling the rain, you can turn it on and off whenever you want and the water is heated. But it's pretty small, maybe about as big as this pool."

"And they have these showers where you come from?" Bedivere asked in amazement as he pulled his slender legs against his chest, his knees just breaking the water's surface. From what Shirou could tell he didn't have much hair on his body either, though from the neck down he was hidden below the dark water.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, just about everyone has one."

"Hmm. That certainly sounds amazing. I should like to try it one day..." Bedivere's voice trailed off.

"I'm gonna dry off by the fire and set up for the night, sounds like it's still raining." Shirou said.

Bedivere nodded as Shirou left and made his way back towards the main fire. It seemed like the horses had laid down as well as Shirou set up the blanket that Merlin had provided him with. He laid down and listened to the rain. Bedivere still hadn't returned yet and Shirou began to wonder about him, he'd been acting a bit strange ever since they entered the cave. He was starting to feel like he was in some kind of adventure tale. Going on a journey with a knight in some faraway land and camping outside.

Shirou looked outside, the rain had picked up a little but he couldn't see the sky from within the cave. All he could tell was that the sun was sinking and it would soon be nightfall. The way things were going they really would have to spend the night in this cave.

Soon he heard the sound of Bedivere's armored footsteps approaching from the back of the cave. It was odd that he even put it back on after he took a bath, it wasn't like anyone was going to kill them in this cave.

"Are you paranoid or something?" Shirou asked as Bedivere sat across from him near the fire.

"Paranoid? I am afraid I do not understand what you mean." Bedivere tilted his head.

"Do you think something terrible is going to happen? You don't need to wear all that armor in here do you?" Shirou explained. He'd gotten kind of used to people asking him about some words he used or the way he said things.

"I do not think anything will happen here. We are isolated in this cave." Bedivere replied plainly.

"So why wear your armor?"

Bedivere went silent, probably unable to think of a good reason. After a few moments he heaved a sigh. "If you are so concerned then I suppose there is no helping it." He lifted his arms and began to remove the gauntlets held to his forearms by a couple of leather straps. He continued to remove his armor until he was only his cape and mantle which still covered his body.

Shirou shrugged. "Good enough I guess. Feels better doesn't it?"

"It feels strange..." Bedivere mumbled.

What seemed like hours passed and the two of them said nothing. The only noise was the occasional snorting of the horses and the crackling of the fire. Shirou laid down and stared up at the ceiling of the cave.

"This is the first time I've ever done anything like this." Shirou said and broke the silence.

"You have never traveled before?" Bedivere sounded surprised.

"Not like this anyway. I've never been camping outside like this." Shirou then proceeded to explain to Bedivere what camping was.

"You certainly come from a strange place." Bedivere sounded amazed.

Night fell and the fire in the cave had died down a bit. Bedivere got some dried meat from his pack which he shared with Shirou, it didn't taste all that great but at least it was food. He had to keep pushing the memories of the food from home out of his mind, otherwise he'd miss it and everything would taste bad. After they ate the two of them settled down for the night, it was still raining outside and it seemed the horses had already fallen asleep as well.

"We had best get some rest. We shall reach the village tomorrow." Bedivere said as he stoked the fire until it died down. After that Shirou heard him roll over on his side and go silent.

Traveling with Bedivere hadn't been all that bad. When they first met he seemed apprehensive at traveling with Shirou, but as the day went on he gradually warmed up to him. He was pretty strange as far as knights go, going out of his way to hide his body from Shirou even though they were both guys. Shirou yawned and closed his eyes, soon falling into a deep sleep.

()()()

"Let us be on our way, we have a lot of ground to cover." Bedivere mounted his horse as Shirou was still saddling Orpheus. Luckily the rain had stopped and today looked to be quite clear and sunny. Shirou packed up his things and mounted Merlin's horse, following Bedivere out of the cave and back into the sunlight.

The grassy plain stretched out before the two of them once more began to ride. Not much was said between them as their journey would soon be reaching it's end. Arthur sent them to find out why the village had stopped contacting Camelot and providing them with wheat. Shirou eyed Bedivere to his side, he was back in his armor and his eyes were back to their rough expression similar to when he and Shirou had first met. He was all business now, probably thinking about reasons as to what had happened in the village.

The scenery really was quite beautiful. An enormous windswept plain stretched out before them, green as far as they eye could see. They were passed the rocky cliffs where Bedivere had found the cave. Rolling hills, green forests and clear rivers. It was nothing at all like the city he was used to. Back where he came from, this area surely must be populated by a large city, part of London perhaps. Though now there were no cities, no people, it really was worth all the trouble he's gone through so far just to see it.

Over the horizon he saw a low hanging grey cloud that... looked like it was billowing up from the ground? "Sir Bedivere." Shirou turned to him.

"Yes I see it. We must hurry." Bedivere's eyes grew wide and he kicked his horse in the side. "Hyah!" He yelled and urged the horse into a gallop, speeding towards the smoke billowing from the ground.

Shirou urged Orpheus faster and followed Bedivere, the horse's hooves thundering on the grassland. The source of the smoke soon came into view, a small village nestled near the edge of a forest. Surrounding the town where what once passed for wheat fields, where they were now only stood charred black remains. Upon nearing the village Shirou and Bedivere slowed. As they got closer they noticed not only the fields, but the entire village itself had been sacked. Houses were torn apart and burnt, bodies lay in the roads, women, children, farmers, their corpses charred black and still giving off heat and smoke.

Bedivere slowed his horse to a halt and Shirou did the same. The two of them dismounted and headed into the empty town. Small fires were still flickering about the village and the fields, the town stank of the dead. A smell which Shirou was quite familiar with, he saw a scene like this one almost every night.

Shirou's feet crunched on the charred and blackened straw that was used to pave the streets. "These people were just farmers..." Shirou's breath felt like it had been stolen from his lungs. Not only the men were killed, women and children too. Whoever did this was monstrous, they would absolutely not be forgiven.

Bedivere knelt near the ground and examined it. He pushed away some of the straw with his hands to reveal many hoofprints under it. "Ten men, lightly armored to move fast." Bedivere reported.

"Hit and run huh?" Shirou knelt down beside him.

"They came from that direction." Bedivere stood up and pointed towards the forest. The trees weren't that dense even though the forest appeared to be quite large. It would have been possible to move mounted men through there.

"Is there a cut path through those trees?" Shirou asked. If so it would be easy to follow them, though if there were ten of them as Bedivere thought then the two of them could do nothing.

"There is not."

Shirou grit his teeth and punched the ground angrily. "Dammit."

Bedivere turned his head towards the forest after he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Is there anything we can do for them?" Shirou looked at the bodies in the streets, they should at least be given a proper burial even if there were many of them. At least 50 or so villagers had been killed here, many more must have been in the fields and the houses.

"There is nothing that we can do. We should leave this place and return to Camelot at once." Bedivere urged Shirou to returned to the horses.

Bedivere walked behind Shirou, his cloak swaying on the ground. These events were most unfortunate. The loss of this village and it's fields would be missed, fortunately the fields could be replanted and the village rebuilt. Though until that time the loss of it's wheat would be felt by Camelot and the surrounding villages.

In the dead silence Sir Bedivere heard a familiar noise from far off near the direction of the forest. His sharp ears were easily able to pick it out amidst the silence of the village, it was the unmistakable sound of a bow string being drawn.

Shirou heard a whistling sound and he turned around to ask Bedivere what it was. The instant their eyes met Bedivere put out his hand and pushed Shirou away. In one fluid motion Bedivere pivoted around, grabbed the hilt of his sword and cut the arrow out of mid air. "Archers! The raiders are still here, we must get the horses behind the houses!" Bedivere ordered and ran with Shirou.

Arrows followed them as they ran, Shirou look back and saw three men standing near the edge of the forest with longbows.

"They do not appear to be Saxon rebels." Bedivere commented out loud as the two of them reached the horses.

"Do you think they were the ones who burnt the village?" Shirou asked, a little panicked at being shot at. He grabbed Orpheus by the reins and followed Bedivere to hide them behind the burnt out houses so they would not be hit by the arrows.

"I do not know, let us ask them." Bedivere growled and worked his way through the town, avoiding the rain of arrows that decended upon the town.

Shirou grabbed the leather handle of Merlin's sword at his hip, unsheathed the blade and followed Bedivere. The archers had been using the trees as cover, hiding both themselves and their horses, just waiting for someone to come and investigate the village.

"You know, I've never killed anyone before." Shirou said as he backed his way into a row of houses.

"You should prepare yourself, they will not hesitate to kill you if given the chance." Bedivere said coldly, though he was right.

"That's quite a run between us and them. No cover between here and the archers." Shirou said as they reached the last row of houses. There was no turning back now. They could either run back to the horses and try to escape, or take their chances and rush the archers. "We could try and escape. We have a good chance of getting away if we run back to the horses." Shirou suggested.

"We will not run. I am confident these men have some answers, they must be interrogated. If we run, we will learn nothing. Do you not want to see justice done for all these innocent people killed?" Bedivere peeked around the corner at the archers, then quickly withdrew his head as an arrow whizzed by where his head had just been moments before.

Again Bedivere was right. If those men were responsible then it was now his and Bedivere's responsibility to avenge these poor people and get answers. Answers were what they wanted, that meant Shirou wouldn't necessarily have to kill anyone. He wasn't quite sure if he could take a life. He knew what it meant to kill, he knew what it meant to be killed. He didn't want that blood on his hands. However he only had to wound the men and then interrogate them, that wasn't killing them. Shirou kept telling himself that he would only injure the men, if he told himself that he wasn't going to kill them then he could attack.

But that was wrong. That would go against everything Lancelot had taught him. Could he do it? Could he take a life? If he didn't, he might really be killed by these men. Both him and Bedivere could be killed right here. Shirou grit his teeth and gripped the handle of his weapon.

"Listen to me. I need you with me, I can not take these men alone!" Bedivere growled at Shirou.

It all came down to the people that were killed. Shirou wanted to see justice done, these people had to take responsibility for their crime. He didn't know who they were but they were merely farmers, they'd never hurt anyone and then just like that they were all killed. When Shirou thought about it he became furious, the villagers crying for help with no one to come and save them.

Shirou heaved a deep sigh. "Yeah. Yeah I'm with you." He nodded.

"Go! Now!" Bedivere shouted and ran around the corner of the house, his cape billowing behind him.

Shirou took a breath and followed Bedivere from the other side. Time seemed to slow down drastically as Shirou began to charge at the archers with Merlin's sword gleaming in his hand. He saw an archer targeting him with an arrow. Shirou raised his sword over his head as the soldier loosed his arrow.

_Remain calm. Carefully assess your situation._

Shirou swung his sword in front of him, knocking the arrow aside. The second archer fired an arrow at him as well as Bedivere was baring down on the last one. Shirou raised his sword again to swat the second arrow away but the arrow hit the guard and knocked the blade out of Shirou's grip.

Shirou didn't care. He was going to beat these men down with his bare fists if he had to. He kept running. These men will answer for what they did.

_Clear your head. You must concentrate or you will fail._

"Trace, On!" Shirou dropped Merlin's blade. That's fine. All he had to do was make another one.

_A magus must always be willing to take his spells one step further. This is how we as Magi progress._

Shirou forced the energy into his hand. Merlin told him to project a weapon, a hollow shell with only a structure. It was now or never, now Shirou had to succeed in copying it's soul as well. His brain burned like fire as he recalled the memories from holding the blade in Merlin's tower.

As Bedivere and Shirou closed in the archers threw down their bows and drew swords from their hips. Bedivere reached his target first. Two men bared down on him, their blows were easily blocked by the shining knight. Bedivere impaled the first one through the chest, pulled his sword out and quickly slashed the other across the torso before either of them had a chance to do anything about it.

_Do not think. Strike. With everything you have._

"Ahhh!" Shirou's hand closed around the completed sword and he swung it down with all his might. His blade caught caught the archer in the shoulder, blood flowed from the wound and coated the blade. The blade that Shirou had projected.

He'd done it. Shirou had projected a weapon and used it to attack a person. There was no turning back now. Shirou dropped the blade where it shattered into tiny pieces and faded away.

Shirou turned and saw Bedivere shaking one of the men he'd attacked. "Why have you destroyed this village?! These people were innocent!" He shouted.

"They provided supplies for the unfitting King, there were no innocents here." The man growled back weakly before coughing up a small amount of blood.

"How dare you speak of the King in such a manner! In whose army do you serve?!" Bedivere snarled.

"I serve one who would lead this country to glory, while your King Arthur will only lead it to destruction." The man replied weakly.

"Give me a name!" Bedivere growled angrily.

The soldier chuckled. The blood seeped through his clothing and stained it a deep red. "I have no name to give to the likes of you. This is but the beginning." Those were the man's last words before his eyes rolled back and he went limp in Bedivere's arms. Bedivere dropped him on the ground and stood up.

"Let us leave. We have much to report." Bedivere stormed off ahead of Shirou and returned to where the horses were kept. Shirou retrieved his sword that was laying on the grass a ways away and sheathed it. All three of the archers had been killed, one of which by Shirou's own hands.

Shirou and Bedivere mounted up, leaving the burned out town behind them. It was still early in the day, so they should be able to make it back to Camelot by nightfall. Arthur would not be pleased at this news but he must hear it nonetheless. It would be a long ride, and what Shirou had just done weighed heavily on his mind.


	9. Sword

ACT IX - Sword

"Sire! Sir Bedivere and Emiya Shirou have returned!" The large double doors into the throne room were thrown open to reveal Shirou and Bedivere walking through. They two of them approached Arthur and knelt before him.

"Your Majesty, we have a report." Bedivere said sternly.

"Please rise and tell me what you found." Arthur motioned for them to stand on their feet.

"Sir!" Sir Bedivere and Shirou both rose. "We reached the village safely, however it had been plundered before we got there. The fields have been burnt and the villagers were slaughtered mercilessly." Bedivere reported.

Arthur's eyebrows twitched but his face still remained composed. "Who would do such a thing?"Arthur leaned forward.

"Frankly your Majesty we do not know. We were ambushed by the enemy's archers. We were able to dispatch and interrogate them but they refused to divulge any useful information. Furthermore they did not wear any recognizable crest from any enemy we have encountered before." Bedivere continued.

"We did find tracks that led off into the forest near the village, that was how they snuck up and attacked without warning. The trees were far enough apart that you could move men and horses through there without much trouble." Shirou interjected.

"Do you know how many men were involved?" Arthur asked.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, I believe it was a small raiding party of at least ten men. That includes the three archers Shirou and I fought."

Arthur nodded and sat back in his throne. "While this news does not please me, you both have done well. I will send a reliable scout into the forest to gather more information." He then focused his attention on Shirou. "Emiya Shirou, you wore just that tunic into battle?" Arthur asked.

Shirou looked down at himself. Apart from Merlin's sword at his hip he only had his normal clothes. He looked up at Arthur and nodded, scratching his head a little in embarrassment. "Well yeah, I don't have any armor or anything so I didn't have much choice."

"That will not do. If I am to send you into battle again I can not leave you unprotected." Arthur looked Shirou over with his eyes.

"Again?"

Arthur nodded. "Both you and Sir Bedivere discovered this. Do not think we have seen the last of this new enemy, I want you to see this through to the end. If they went so far as to attack Camelot's main source of wheat then I do not think this will end with one or two battles. As such you will need to have protection, I will have armor crafted for you immediately."

"A-As you wish Sire." Shirou bowed.

"Captain, see to it that Emiya Shirou's measurements are taken for his new armor." Arthur motioned to the guard.

And so it was Shirou and Bedivere were given leave. Both of them exited and went their separate ways, upon parting Bedivere smiled and gave Shirou a nod to which he returned. The Captain as he was called led Shirou to the royal blacksmith to get his measurements. It was a bit embarrassing for him, but at least the large hairy man that ran the blacksmith in town seemed nice enough. Though he pointed out at every opportunity that Shirou was scrawny and should eat more meat if he wished to survive in a large battle.

The Captain of the guard, who's name happened to be Cardigan simply watched and leaned against the wall.

"So how long is this going to take?" Shirou asked, a bit flustered.

"Finished. It's going ter take quite awhile ter forge this fancy armor the King asked for though. 'Bout a month I should think." The Smith said while stroking his bushy beard.

"A month? I don't even know if I'm sticking around that long."

"Be that as it may I'm still obligated ter forge it. It's quite an honor ter make something for his Majesty and therefore you. I should like ter thank you for giving me the opportunity." The Smith said with a grin.

"Oi, you got what you needed? I don't much like standing around here when I should be protecting the castle." Cardigan said rather impatiently.

"Aye, off with the both of you. I've gota lot of work ter do. Before you leave I will promise you this. This armor will rival the armor of any of the Knights of the Round Table. You'll be a shining symbol for Britannia on the battlefield when I'm done. Try not ter get yerself killed before I finish." The Smith grinned widely and puffed out his chest proudly.

An entire month? Shirou certainly did not want to spend that much time here. He was hoping he could return home by then. Merlin should be able to find a way to send him back... he hoped. Until then he could only live out his life here. But could he even return home and go back to the way things were? Shirou had blood on his hands now. He'd learn how to use a sword and end someone else's life. There was no denying that. The way things were going he could end up having to kill again, he'd rather avoid that as much as possible.

The minute they were back on the castle grounds Cardigan abandoned Shirou and returned to his men who were guarding Camelot. Now that he was alone he should probably go and see Merlin to let him know what happened if he didn't already know. Merlin had a strange way of knowing things without being told.

Shirou returned to the side garden on Camelot's grounds and sat on one of the benches made of stone. It was turning out to be late evening, and Shirou was a bit tired from the traveling so he was eager to get a little rest. The sun had set and the air had begun to get cooler. If possible the next time he saw a sunset like this he would like to enjoy it properly outside the castle walls.

The breeze felt good on his face. He leaned his back against the stone walls of the castle and closed his eyes. Today was the first time he'd succeeded in making something like a sword. Merlin and Lancelot's training must be taking effect, it felt good to be making progress but Shirou couldn't help but feel he didn't want to use it again. He did want to protect people, but he was out of his league here. He couldn't abandon his own people and live his life out in the past, who knows what kind of dire effects that could have on the future. As far as he knows he could have already changed it by doing something he wasn't supposed to. Even if he returned home would it be the same?

"Oh? You are here too Shirou?" Shirou heard someone call his name and he looked up to see Guinevere standing to his side with the King's lion cub Azif at her feet.

"My Lady." Shirou stood and bowed politely.

"It is a beautiful sunset tonight is it not?" Guinevere looked to the sky with a faint smile while Azif began to roll about in the grass and chase bugs.

"Y-yeah it is. Please sit down." Shirou was always surprised to see her. This would be the second time they've met like this but Shirou couldn't help but remember what Morgana Le Fay had said several days earlier.

Guinevere sat down on the bench next to Shirou. Her long hair billowing down her back. "You look troubled."

"I killed someone." Shirou hung his head.

"Yes, I heard about those archers." Guinevere looked over at Shirou.

"..."

"Please do not be too down about it. I am sure they would have killed you if you did nothing." Guinevere attempted to help cheer him up.

"I know but where I come from taking a life is unforgivable."

"You should not think of it as taking life. You must think of it as protecting life." Guinevere said with a faint smile.

"Protecting?" Shirou looked up.

Guinevere nodded. "Yes. By defeating those archers you saved life. They would have killed anyone that investigated that village, and they probably would have attacked other villages in the future."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes. My Lady is correct." Lancelot stepped forward from the direction the training yard was in.

Both Shirou and Guinevere turned to face him, not expecting him to appear. He must have been training in the yard when he'd heard the two of them talking. He was fully armored as always with his heavy sword sheathed at his hip.

"A Knight never attacks. A Knight always protects. When we strike, we are protecting the things we hold dear. Our Honor, our country, our family, our friends. We brandish our weapons for King and country and our oaths bind us to this. What do you think it is I have been training you to do Emiya Shirou?" Lancelot spoke sternly.

"To understand my Element, right?"

"That is what Merlin asked of me, yes." Lancelot nodded. "But what do you think I wanted you to use this training for?"

Come to think of it, it did seem a bit strange. Arthur was giving a lot, and so was Merlin and everyone else. Shirou just thought that they wanted to study him and learn about the future. Merlin was probably the only one that was interested in what Shirou could actually do. Arthur seemed to have other plans for him, even everyone else seemed to think so even though Shirou couldn't even begin to guess what that was. Weapon and Magic training from two influential people in Camelot. It was strange no matter how he looked at it.

"To protect. Not only yourself, but the people as well. Sir Bedivere told me in detail about what happened. It seems the King was correct to place his trust in you. The King also had a set of armor commissioned for you did he not? You should be able to tell what this will mean." Lancelot explained.

"You mean...?" Shirou was surprised.

Lancelot nodded. "You will investigate this matter that you and Sir Bedivere has uncovered and if need be raise your sword to protect more innocent people from being slaughtered. You will not kill, you will protect. This is what I am teaching you swordsmanship for. You will be a sword for the people, the King, and our country."

"A sword to protect... right?" Shirou became lost in thought. What Lancelot said right. He couldn't think of it as killing someone else, he was protecting people. He protected people by killing those men. He repeated it in his head.

"Now get out of here. I will seriously hurt you if you show up tomorrow for your training as tired as you look now." Lancelot motioned for him to leave.

"Yeah, I'll go get some rest. Thanks a lot, both of you." Shirou smiled at both Lancelot and Guinevere.

"Aye, off with you boy."

"If you ever find yourself feeling unsure about anything, please talk to me again." Guinevere smiled and waved him off.

Shirou jumped up from the bench and walked over to Azif who was laying on his back in the grass with his paws up in the air. Shirou scratched his stomach, making him stretch out in a rather cute manner and extend his claws. As he turned to leave, he swore he caught Lancelot smiling faintly out of the corner of his eye.

Shirou left the castle. The sun had dipped far below the horizon and it was beginning to get dark. Shirou looked at his hands, those hands that had held a sword. His Element was swords, he was starting to think that maybe he is himself a sword. A sword to protect, a sword right down to his bones.

If he could protect people here, if he could do something to help them. Could he abandon them and just go back home? There were many good people here. Lancelot, Bedivere, Merlin, Guinevere, Arthur, Lina, Elise, and many others. These people were all worth protecting. Shirou reached his front door, but he stopped and turned around to look up at the stars which were now shimmering in the cloudless night sky.

"I am the bone of my sword... right?"

()()()

The next morning Shirou awoke in a cold sweat after having the usual flashback of his home in flames. He was panting heavily and he raised a hand to wipe his face. He grabbed a wooden bucket and a clean set of clothes and headed outside. There was a river nearby in which he liked to bathe. It wasn't anything like he was used to back home as the water couldn't be heated and it was usually pretty cold, but it was the only way to wash both his clothes and himself at the same time. Unfortunately there was also no soap.

Arriving at the river he stripped down and jumped into the cold water all at once. He found the shock woke him up pretty good, after jumping in he scooped some water up into the bucket and poured it over his back.

"Good morning Shirou!" Suddenly the silence was broken by someone calling his name.

Shirou turned around to see a familiar blonde haired girl trotting towards him. "Lina!?" He exclaimed and hid his body under the water.

"You are taking a bath this morning too?" She asked with a smile.

"Y-yeah... where's Elise?" Shirou asked. Normally Lina and Elise came as a pair, since they were both the best of friends one was rarely seen without the other.

"She is with her father." Elise's father ran the bakery in the castle town, Shirou hoped he would still be able to make do even with the shortage of wheat that would soon follow due to the loss of Camelot's main source.

"I see, well if you see her today give her my regards." Shirou's face was now pretty red.

Lina grinned and took a couple more steps towards Shirou.

"Lina I'll be done in a minute, would you mind waiting until then?" Shirou asked and sunk further into the shallow water.

"Very well. I will see you later then Shirou. Please do not forget that you still owe Elise and I a story about your adventures with Sir Bedivere." Lina waved and left Shirou in peace.

Shirou found it odd that Lina wasn't at all flustered by stumbling onto Shirou when he was bathing. Was it a cultural thing? Shirou didn't know much about culture in ancient England. "Or should I just start calling it England?" He mumbled to himself and finished up washing his body. Though most people seemed to call it Britannia. England must be a more recent term for the country. Shirou hit himself on the head. "I gotta stop that. I'm going to go crazy thinking about that."

He dried himself off and returned to his house, throwing the bucket onto his table. Shirou grabbed Merlin's... his sword and buckled it around his waist. It seemed like his training would continue like normal, Lancelot would surely be waiting for him in the back of the castle and he would spend the afternoon with Merlin. He hadn't seen the old magus since he'd gotten back with Bedivere, so he didn't yet know that Shirou had successfully projected a weapon.

Shirou arrived at the familiar dirt ring in the back of the castle where Lancelot was waiting for him, his large sword already in his hand.

"We will continue your training as usual. Draw your sword." Lancelot talked to him quite a bit last night, but it seems like he's returned to his normal cold self.

Shirou drew his sword from his hip and raised it. He took a couple of steps towards Lancelot and the two of them locked eyes. Lancelot stepped forward quickly and swung his sword.

Thankfully Shirou's reflexes had gotten a bit better, so his raised his sword and blocked Lancelot's blow. Lancelot swung again and Shirou was able to block him a second time.

"Let us test your footwork." Lancelot said after a satisfied sounding growl. His attacks grew more aggressive, he shuffled forward and swung his sword. Shirou scuffled backward and continued merely defending himself. Lancelot had no opening in his guard so he had little choice but to keep defending. Even though he was reluctant, Lancelot always told Shirou to fight him with every ounce of strength he had. He seemed as confident as Arthur in that manner, he was sure that Shirou would be unable to hurt him no matter what he did.

Lancelot slashed at Shirou's arm. Shirou jumped to the side and swung at Lancelot's torso, of course the blow was easily blocked and Shirou was forced to retreat to avoid a counter attack. All this time being beaten up by Lancelot seems to have honed Shirou's instincts quite a bit.

This training went on for a couple of hours. Lancelot attacked more and more fiercely whenever Shirou got too used to fighting him at a certain level. By the end Shirou had been beaten again, but he'd also been able to trade blows with the knight easier than he had thus far.

"That is all for today. Merlin is waiting for you." Lancelot said and sheathed his sword. He walked off and left Shirou on the ground as he normally did.

Shirou dug his sword into the ground and used it to heave himself off of the ground. Sheathing the sword he watched Lancelot walk to the castle and leave around the corner near the garden. Shirou turned towards Merlin's tower and headed inside.

"Ah I am glad to see you today." Merlin greeted Shirou with a smile when he entered the workshop.

"Hey Merlin. Have you found a way to send me home yet?" Shiruo asked.

Merlin's smile dropped. "I am afraid not lad. You said you were sent here by some sort of accident. I am afraid that if I do not know in detail the ritual that you saw then repeating it is impossible." Merlin stood up and placed his hand on Shirou's shoulder. "For now I would suggest thinking about how you are going to live out your life here."

Shirou sighed. In the deepest part of his heart he always knew that it was more possible that he would never be able to return home. He knew, but it still didn't stop his chest from feeling like it had just been ripped apart. "Are you sure there's nothing that you can do?"

"Perhaps if you remembered that Magic Circle you said that you saw. If you could recall exactly what that looked like then there might be a chance. However I do not want to promise you anything lad. I am sorry." Merlin seemed genuinely sad for Shirou as he returned to his seat.

"Tell me what you and Sir Bedivere found." Merlin asked in an attempt to keep Shirou from sinking down into a pit of depression.

Shirou explained as Merlin asked. He was thankful that Merlin was trying to take his mind off of the bad news, but there are things that just couldn't be done. He did realize that Merlin was right, he should make the best of what he had here. Sitting around and being depressed would get him nowhere. At the very least he was expected to continue his training with Lancelot and Merlin, who had become something like mentors to him. It seemed the only person around the castle he hadn't very much was Sir Galahad. He had seen him only twice and Shirou didn't know anything about him. Hell, he knew more about Arthur than about Galahad. It was possible that Sir Galahad left the castle on business, after all that was part of a knight's duty.

Still, talking to Merlin got his mind off of everything that was going on. At least for now.

"Really? You were able to successfully project a sword?" Merlin's eyes grew wide and he smiled brightly upon hearing the news.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah. It's not as strong as the real thing, but I think I got it pretty close."

"Would you care to show me?" Merlin asked hopefully.

"Yeah sure." Shirou focused his attention and formed the mechanism in his head he used to activate his Magic Circuits. "Trace, On." He extended his hand and pulled back the firing pin in his head. The trigger was pulled and the hammer came down. Magical energy exploded through his body and flowed through his arm. He pushed everything out of his mind except for his sword.

Whatever he visualized was pushed into reality. Soon the structure of the sword which still had his side was being brought into existence. The runes on the blade, the gems on the guard and the hilt, the very aura of the sword. Shirou's hand closed around the leather grip.

Merlin watched as though he was a kid in a candy store. Soon the sword was fully formed and the familiar weight was in Shirou's hand.

"May I?" Merlin asked and held out his hands.

Shirou set the sword in Merlin's hands. Merlin examined it and turned it over in his hands. "I can not tell the difference. This is truly amazing." Merlin gripped the leather handle to get a feel for it.

Shirou scratched the back of his head. "I think so too, but it's not perfect. It could still definitely cut through magic, but it's a bit off as far as the power goes." He was happy that Merlin was impressed, but as far as he was concerned he could still improve it. Projection was a battle with himself, he something went wrong then he would fail. Even the slightest imperfection could mean failure.

Merlin put the sword down and then looked at Shirou. "You may go for the rest of the day."

"Huh? What about today's training?"

"It is all right. Take some time and think about what you want to do. Perhaps you will be able to remember that Magic Circle. I know that Elise would like to spend some time with you as well." Merlin gave him a sly wink.

"Elise?"

Merlin nodded. "Your name has come up often during my daily visit to the bakery."

"What about our agreement? You've given me a lot I can't just keep taking things from you without returning the favor." Shirou asked.

Merlin chuckled. "You are not yet ready for the task I would set for you. I will let you know and you will repay your debt then. Until that time comes you need not worry about a thing." He spoke with a smile.

Shirou heaved a sigh. He did have a lot on his mind and it seemed Merlin picked up on that and was letting him off for the day. Maybe he would go see Lina and Elise, they seemed to regard him as a friend at the very least it would be rude for Shirou to just ignore them. He didn't particularly have any interest in the two of them as women, but it would be nice to have people to talk to besides heroes like Lancelot or Bedivere. Lina and Elise were normal girls, surely they could understand his normal problems.

Merlin shooed Shirou out of his tower and back outside. The sky was overcast and grey, but it didn't look like rain. The landscape took on a greyish color in the lack of sunlight and Shirou headed through the garden and towards the gate leading into the castle town.

As he was walking down the hill Shirou spotted a person running towards him. It seemed he was out of energy by the way he carried himself. Shirou started jogging towards him since he looked like he was frantic and in trouble. As he got closer Shirou noticed that there was blood covering the front and dripping down his body.

"Hang on!" Shirou ran forward and caught the man.

The man groaned and his body felt weak and heavy. "Camelot... take me... Camelot... The King..." He said weakly.

Upon closer inspection Shirou saw a total of three arrow shafts sticking out of his back. "Shit. I'm going to get you out of here!" He slapped the man to keep him awake and slung the man's arm behind him for support and turned to head back to the castle.


	10. Investigation

ACT X - Investigation

Shirou stood outside the infirmary leaning against the stone wall with Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, and Merlin. The man he'd found running up the path to the castle was inside being questioned by Sir Bedivere and King Arthur himself who insisted on talking to the man personally. Sir Galahad had returned from the barracks and helped Shirou escort the injured scout inside the castle and to the infirmary.

"I thank you for assisting him. Dietrich is my best man." Sir Galahad turned to Shirou and bowed.

"Don't worry about it. I hope he'll be all right." Shirou motioned for Galahad to stand back up.

"If you were not there then he would not have made it to the gate." Galahad thanked him again.

The door to the infirmary opened and Arthur and Bedivere stepped out into the hall where the others were waiting with Shirou. Arthur seemed to have a bit of blood on his armor.

"How is he?" Shirou asked concerned.

Arthur shook his head. "I am afraid his wounds were too severe."

"Did he die well my Lord? Was he able to fulfill his duty?" Galahad stepped forward towards Arthur.

Arthur nodded. "Yes. He was able to give a report before he died just as I asked him. He fulfilled his duty well." Galahad looked satisfied at Arthur's answer.

Lancelot raised his head. "So, did you learn anything?"

"I do not think we should speak of such things here." Bedivere suggested.

"To the throne room then?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, we will meet there." Arthur nodded again.

The lot of them were escorted away from the infirmary by a couple of guards. Shirou took a look back at the door. It seemed the man that he and Sir Galahad had carried in had died. After everything he did he ended up dying anyway and Shirou was unable to save him. Shirou couldn't help but feel a little sad. Hopefully it wasn't meaningless.

They arrived at the throne room and the guards took their posts around the room. Arthur took his seat on the throne and Shirou and the others knelt in front of it.

"It seems my scout was ambushed by archers in the forest. However that was not all." Arthur said ominously.

"It seemed he found something. Some kind of barrier that would not let him proceed any further through the forest." Bedivere explained.

"Do we know who it was that attacked Dietrich?" Sir Galahad asked.

"We do not. However we can only assume it was part of the force that attacked Shirou Emiya and myself." Bedivere answered.

"Your Majesty I believe that Morgana Le Fay is behind this barrier that your scout saw." Merlin spoke directly to Arthur.

"Yes, I believe so too. However I do not think we should attack just yet. She is obviously planning something, perhaps amassing a force with which to attack Camelot." Arthur leaned forward.

"I believe an excursion into the forest is in order. Perhaps the boy has a way take down the barrier and allow us to enter." Lancelot said without much emotion.

"Can you do something like that Shirou?" Arthur asked.

Shirou nodded. "Probably. If it's something like a magic barrier, then this sword should be able to cut through it." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Merlin crack a smile.

"Very well. We shall investigate what is on the other side of this barrier. Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere with both accompany Shirou into the forest." Arthur ordered.

"My King." Sir Galahad stood up. "I respect your judgment however I would like to be in the party to accompany the party into the forest as well." He bowed respectively.

"I do not think that wise. I know you want to avenge the death of Dietrich, I know that he was a good friend of yours. That is precisely why I can not allow you to go."

Galahad's head drooped a little. "As you command." He bowed again.

"I am uneasy, there is a foul smell in the air. Tomorrow I shall temporarily halt the search for the Holy Grail and call the remaining knights to the Round Table." Arthur heaved a sigh. He looked tired.

"Call the knights-? My King even if they do return it shall take weeks for them all to assemble. Do you think it wise to halt your Holy Quest? We do not even know what will transpire in the forest." Merlin spoke up.

"The Grail shall wait until this matter is dealt with. I will feel better if this turns out to be just an organized group of bandits." Arthur said almost hopefully, though Shirou could tell he was worried. "You will leave in the morning, I would suggest that you get some rest between now and then. That will be all." Arthur stood up, and as he did so did everyone else. Arthur left the throne room through a back door while the others left from the front.

The three knights went their own ways while Shirou was left with Merlin. The sun had set and the moon would soon take it's place. Shirou had planned to go straight home but since that incident with the scout he'd been requested to stay at the castle. It seemed he was free now though. He bid Merlin farewell and watched him head to his tower while Shirou once again headed towards the dirt path leading into the castle town.

The scout named Dietrich seemed to be friends with Sir Galahad. Galahad seemed to have a sense of honor as seen by his wish for his friend to fulfill his duty before he died. Shirou couldn't help but admire that, all the knights seemed to have a profound sense of honor and justice just as the stories were told. It also seemed as they all held an oath to the King that they would not dare break.

It seemed that the reason the other knights weren't around was because they were searching for the Holy Grail while Arthur ran the country from Camelot, though now they were going to be called back. Shirou wondered what kind of development something like that would have on the people. All the knights gathering in one place had to be a major event. Did Arthur understand what that could do? What exactly did he think they would find in the forest? Many things would happen in the future, that was certain. It would also be likely that Shirou would have to raise his blade at an enemy again. When that time came he would have to recall what Lancelot and Guinevere told him.

Shirou entered the town. It hadn't quite gotten dark yet so maybe the girls were home. They did say that they wanted to hear some stories so maybe it would be a good idea to talk to them and unwind. Elise's father may not be too keen on letting her out so late, but as far as he knew Lina lived alone. He wasn't sure of the circumstances on why Lina was by herself since Shirou had never asked but maybe now was the time.

Luckily they lived across the road from Shirou. The girls lived right next door to each other so other than when Elise was helping out with her father's bakery the two of them were always seen together. They were practically sisters. Shirou walked up to Lina's house and knocked on the wooden door a couple of times.

"I will be right there!" Lina's voice called from within her small house. Shirou heard footsteps inside and a couple of seconds later the door opened.

"Evening, Lina." Shirou waved at her in greeting.

"Hello Shirou. It's rare for you to drop by here." Lina said with a warm smile.

Shirou scratched the back of his head. "Well, I owe you and Elise a story don't I?"

Lina clapped her hands together with excitement. "Fantastic! Let us go and retrieve her." She said and stepped outside into the evening air with Shirou.

Elise's house was right next door. Shirou noticed there was a lit candle in one of the windows as he and Lina approached the door.

"Elise! Shirou wants to talk to us. Hurry and come out." Lina said as she rapped on the door with her knuckles.

The door opened to reveal the rather curious looking redhead. "Shirou does?" Elise tilted her head and brushed her shoulder length hair behind her ear.

"Hey Elise. It's alright if you come out right? With your dad I mean." Shirou asked.

"Father, I am going out with Lina!" Elise turned around and called into her house.

"Do not stay out too late Elise. I would like your help in the shop tomorrow." A man's voice, presumably Elise's father called to her from in the house.

Elise walked through the door and closed it behind her. "Does that satisfy your question?" She grinned at Shirou.

"Looks like we are all yours Shirou." Lina winked and nudged Shirou in the ribs.

"Ahaha. I wish you would have said it a different way though." Shirou chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

The three of them walked to Lina's house because Shirou insisted that he didn't want a girl to see his house the way it was. He'd never been inside either of their houses before but Lina's home didn't look that much different than Shirou's, albeit a bit more decorated. There were a couple vases of flowers around and a large handwoven basket filled with beautiful wildflowers on a wooden table with four chairs on each side.

"Wow, these flowers are all really nice." Shirou commented as he took a look around after stepping inside.

"Lina makes them all herself. They are very pretty are they not?" Elise said with a smile.

"Do you like them? I have always liked flowers, maybe some day I'll be able to have my own stall and arrange flowers for everyone." Lina smiled faintly as she watered the wildflowers in her window.

"I did not expect you were the type of man who likes flowers Shirou." Elise smirked.

"A-Anyway, you girls wanted to hear a story about my journey with Sir Bedivere didn't you?" Shirou was a bit embarrassed so he avoided Elise's teasing.

Both of the girls nod at the exact same time. "Yes, please tell us!" Sometimes Shirou thought it was strange how in sync with each other they were.

And so Shirou began his story. The girls sat on Lina's bed and listened intently while Shirou pulled up a chair and sat back in it. He embellished it a little to make it more interesting for the girls, and he left the part out about the details of him and Bedivere in the cave. The girls's eyes both went wide when Shirou was talking about how he was dodging archers with Bedivere in the burned out village.

"That was really the first time you have ever killed a person?" Elise asked with concern in her eyes.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't sure I would be able to do it until Sir Bedivere pushed me."

"That must have been horrible for you." Lina almost looked a little sad.

"I hope I don't have to kill anyone next time..." Shirou mumbled.

"Next time?" Elise asked curiously.

Shirou then explained what had happened on his way home and that next time he would be on another mission with Lancelot and Bedivere.

"Sir Lancelot AND Sir Bedivere?" Lina exclaimed.

"I am so jealous Shirou!" Elise squeaked.

"Now you two... it's not going to be all fun and games." Shirou sighed.

"Are you really leaving tomorrow?" Lina looked disappointed.

Shirou nodded again. "Yeah, hopefully I'll be back within a couple of days."

"You had better get some rest then." Elise said with a smile.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. It was nice talking to you two, it helps me forget everything that's been going on lately." Shirou grinned widely.

"We shall wait for another story of your adventures with the knights when you return." Lina smiled as everyone stood up from their respective seats.

"I should go home then. My father did say not to stay out late." Elise said as she and Shirou were both escorted to the door by Lina.

"I'll see you two later." Shirou waved to the girls and walked across the road to his house.

"Sleep well Shirou!" Lina waved back to him.

"Good night Shirou." Elise nodded to him and then went inside her house.

Shirou left them and returned to his little home away from home. Talking to the girls felt good. He was able to forget his troubles, if only for a moment. In fact those two were probably part of the reason the village didn't see him as an outcast any more. After the first week when Lina and Elise started talking to him the villagers seemed to let their guard down around Shirou.

Shirou grabbed a roll from the basket that sat on his table and fell backwards onto his bed. "I'll have to remember to thank those two sometime." He mumbled as he took a bite. Those two girls were the first people to warm up to him, if they hadn't then Shirou might never have said anything to anyone in the village. On a wider scale everything so far was thanks to Merlin and that liquid he called Babel. It was that stuff that eliminated the language barrier between Shirou and everyone else and as far as he knew the effects were permanent.

He took a long look around the house. The bread on the table, the sword leaning against the wall next to his bed, the vase of flowers on the edge of his window. "It seems I've got a lot of people to thank." Shirou heaved a sigh.

Tomorrow he would leave again, off on another adventure with not one but two knights this time. Shirou didn't know exactly what to expect and he didn't have any idea what he was looking for. The one thing he did know was that he was doing this to prevent another tragedy like that village that was destroyed. If he could do that then he would happily do whatever he needed to.

_"You should start thinking about how you are going to live your life here."_

Merlin's words rang in his head. If he did have to spend the rest of his life here, he wanted to do some good. Maybe he could become a soldier and help Cardigan guard the castle, though the Captain didn't seem to like him too much. Either way he wanted to protect people, he wanted to stop more people from dying horribly like that.

Shirou rolled over and grabbed the handle of his sword. He jumped out of his bed and withdrew it from the sheath. "If I can't save everyone then..." He took the piece of bread he was eating and tossed it into the air. "I'll dedicate myself to saving whoever I can." His sword cut the air and the bread fell to the floor, cut cleanly in half.

Saving absolutely everyone, that much Shirou realized was impossible. He was unable to save those villagers, he was unable to save that scout. There would no without a doubt be more people he would be unable to save in the future, in that case there was only one thing to do and that was save whoever he could. Shirou Emiya thought that as he returned his sword to it's place by his bed and fell asleep on his bed.


	11. Into the Dark Forest

ACT XI - Into The Dark Forest

Shirou awoke suddenly to a loud pounding on his door. He sat bolt upright and looked out the window. The sun was up. Barely.

"Alright, alright. I'm up!" Shirou called as the pounding continued. He heaved himself out of bed and opened the door to find Lancelot standing outside.

"Pick up your sword, we are leaving ahead of schedule." Lancelot said coldly. "Sir Bedivere has saddled your horse for you, hurry up." He added.

"My horse? I don't own a horse." Shirou rubbed his eyes. Maybe he'd misheard the knight.

"You do now." Lancelot turned away.

Shirou grabbed his sword from his bedside and buckled it around his waist. He grabbed a roll from the basket on the table and took a swig of water from the bucket. Sticking the roll in his mouth he quickly went outside into the misty morning air.

The sun was low in the sky and blazed over the countryside, bathing it in it's light. The air itself was cold and moisture clung to the green grass in the fields. Even in the foggy air Shirou could tell there were quite a few people already awake and tending to their various jobs in the castle town.

In the middle of the road in front of Shirou's house sat Sir Bedivere and Sir Lancelot on their mounts. Bedivere on his white horse, his silver armor shining in the sunlight as his long cape billowed down his back along with his long silver hair. Lancelot was fully armored, the guard drawn on his helmet as he sat on his large black stallion. Shirou then noticed in Sir Bedivere's hand was a pair of reins, attached to them was a brown horse with white markings on it's forehead. It was saddled and had no rider.

"Good morning Shirou." Bedivere greeted him warmly.

Shirou yawned. "Morning. Is that...?" He pointed towards the brown horse.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, this is your horse. He does not yet have a name as he is rather young so please think about it."

Shirou approached the horse. The animal looked at him and lowered his head towards Shirou like he was expecting something. Shirou held out his hand, and the horse bumped it with his head. It was asking for attention, it seems it liked to be petted.

"This is your horse, isn't it?" Shirou looked up at Bedivere.

Sir Bedivere shook his head. "No, he belongs to you."

"It seems Sir Bedivere cannot explain properly, so I will. He is giving this young stallion to you. I suggested this because he is always complaining about having too many horses." Lancelot explained with little emotion.

"I see. Thank you, I'll take very good care of him." Shriou turned to Bedivere and bowed in thanks.

Bedivere cleared his throat awkwardly. "Please see that you do."

Shirou mounted his horse, which didn't resist at all. It must have been trained pretty young. Soon the three of them were on their way out of the village. The girls must still be asleep at this hour as neither Lina nor Elise came to see Shirou off.

The flowing green hills of the countryside stretched out before them once again as the exited the castle town. It would be about a half a day's ride judging by the time it took them to reach the village the last time. Shirou figured they would arrive by early afternoon. Time passed a bit funny for Shirou having no way to actually tell time besides the position of the sun in the sky.

Unfortunately Bedivere and Lancelot were very poor conversation and as the journey went on he began to feel his fatigue. His teachers had been working him pretty hard lately, and with everything else that was going on it seemed that his body was begging him for more rest.

"Shirou, are you all right?" Bedivere asked after what felt like half an hour of riding.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine." Shirou said absentmindedly. "Ow!" Shirou yelped after feeling something dig into his back.

"You should not be falling asleep." Shirou looked back just in time to see Lancelot sheathing his sword.

Shirou felt his back and came back with a small amount of red liquid on his hand. "What the hell did you do that for?!" Shirou shouted angrily.

"You do not feel tired any longer correct?"

Now that he mentioned it... "I guess not."

()()()

"Is that it?" Lancelot asked as what looked like a couple of ruined houses appeared on the horizon.

"Yeah, the forest is just beyond the village." Shirou replied.

"I was hoping I would not have to come here again. It really was quite terrible." Bedivere said to himself.

The sun was high in the sky now. It seemed that Shirou spaced out for most of the journey, occasionally being poked in the back by Lancelot. Shirou was plenty awake by now, the throbbing pain in his back wasn't going to let him sleep anyway.

Shirou once again found himself walking through the burned out town. By now the buildings had completely fallen apart, the bodies in the streets were unrecognizable, and the fields were blackened hideous plots of land.

"Should we leave the horses here?" Shirou asked as they approached the edge of the forest.

"No. You reported that the enemy moved horses through here, we should as well." Lancelot stared ahead into the trees.

"The scout reported that the magic field was deep within the western part of the forest. We should make haste, I wish to know what is beyond it as much as the King does." Bedivere started into the forest with Lancelot right behind him.

At this point Shirou figured it would be a good idea to just stay silent and follow the two knights. They knew more about the lay of the land than he did so until he learned what was what it was better just to follow for now. The trees outlining the forest weren't all that dense, but as they ventured further in they found that the trees thickened.

Shirou then recalled that in his home of Fuyuki City there was a forest similar to this on the outskirts of town. However the forest they were in held a stranger air about it, walking through Shirou got the feeling that he was being watched. The air smelled of pine needles and grew thicker as they trudged onward. Looking off the to the side he saw that some larger trees had fallen over and started to rot, moss and mushrooms grew on the rotting wood. The village they passed through probably got most of the lumber to build the town out of this very forest.

It was truly an ancient forest, free of the modern civilization that Shirou was familiar with. It was almost like being on another planet. Birds were chirping loudly as they fluttered from tree to tree, occasionally a small animal like a squirrel would scamper through the dead leaves on the forest floor. It was times like these that made Shirou remember that he was in a world were a lot of the world hadn't even been discovered yet.

"Shirou, you have been silent for quite some time. Is something wrong?" Bedivere asked.

"Yeah, I guess I just got caught up in thinking about home." Shirou stared down at his horse.

"Is that so? Do you have a woman waiting for you back home?" Bedivere turned around on his horse to face Shirou.

"No no, nothing like that." Shirou waved his hand dismissively.

"Is it those showers you told me about?" Bedivere tilted his head curiously.

"Well showers are nice, but I was wondering what my friends were up to." Shirou looked up at the sky, which could now barely be seen through the thick trees.

"I see, it must be hard." Bedivere replied.

Shirou fell silent. In his free time he would try to remember the seal he saw when he stumbled onto Rin in her basement, as of now it was his only way back. He did want to go home, but it seems that he'd gotten caught up in something here. The real question now was, would they let him leave? He thought about what Merlin said, he should make the best of what he had now in case he was never able to make it back home.

"I have upset you with something I have said. I am sorry." Bedivere nodded apologetically.

"Don't worry about it."

"Quiet. We are almost there." Lancelot shushed the two of them as they approached the darkest part of the forest.

The horses started to become restless as the trees grew thick and blotted out the sky above them. The horses could barely move without having to step over fallen brushes and leaves.

Shirou focused his eyes like Merlin taught him. If he did it right he should be able to see if there were any traces of magic in the air. Now that he'd activated the circuits, he saw what looked like pulses of purple colored magic coming out from an area a bit ahead of where they were now. The pulses were frequent passing through the trees almost bathing the area in the color.

"Wow..." Shirou exclaimed.

"Do you see something?" Lancelot turned and asked.

"This whole area is practically bleeding magical energy." Shirou reported.

"Morgana." Lancelot growled.

They walked onward. From the looks of things there was an opening in the trees that looked like it led to a clearing. The clearing must be where the barrier was. Upon entering the clearing the saw what looked like a large dome, tinted purple in color. It was very large, stretching all the way up to the top of the trees but it looked like it was carefully planned not to go over them.

"So this is it." Bedivere was speechless as he looked up at the barrier, stopping his horse.

Lancelot dismounted, as did everyone else. "We leave the horses here." He said as he patted the snout of his black stallion. The three of them approached the barrier.

Shirou touched the barrier. It crackled under his fingers, as if a small bit of electricity was being run through it. He knocked on it, it felt solid.

"Well, can you cut it?" Lancelot asked.

"Let's find out." Shirou grabbed his sword and drew it. He raised it over his head and swung it at at the barrier. The enchanted blade passed through the barrier like it was air, making a small slit in it. The edges of the cut burned like paper that was set on fire and crept outward, making the cut bigger. After a few moments it was large enough for them to fit through.

"Not bad boy." Lancelot slipped through the opening first.

The inside of the barrier was a large clearing. In the clearing were what looked like many ruined buildings made out of stone. Shirou couldn't tell how old these ruins were but judging from the moss growing around the buildings they were ancient. The forest must have reclaimed this village after quite some time. If it was already here, or the forest just grew around it Shirou didn't know.

"I had no idea this was here..." Bedivere exclaimed.

"Nor did I. No one has entered this forest for ages." Lancelot removed his helmet.

Shirou heard voices coming from the ruins, he kept himself low and behind the trees as he moved in for a better look. Lancelot and Bedivere followed silently behind him. Even with his full suit of armor, Lancelot was able to move with remarkable silence.

"On the throne sits a false King. A King who's ways will lead this country to ruin." A man's voice was heard making some kind of speech. He stood atop what looked like a fallen pillar made of marble. In front of him were at least 50 men, all kneeling.

Shirou and the two knights pressed their backs against the trees. The man that was speaking wore a full suit of silver armor with a red cape flowing down his back. At his hip was a broadsword.

"Who are these guys?" Shirou whispered.

"I do not know. They do not bear any marks on their armor, so it is impossible to tell." Bedivere replied.

Shirou tuned out the man's speaking. Whoever he was, he didn't seem to like Arthur much. Well, it's not like Shirou hadn't expected this sort of thing to begin with. There was no other reason that these guys would destroy the town supplying Camelot.

"Get back boy!" Lancelot grabbed Shirou's tunic and yanked him back behind the tree.

Shirou was about to snap back at him, but he saw a woman come from behind a destroyed building and approached the leader speaking to the other men. It didn't take Shirou long to figure out who she was in her long flowing black robes. Morgana Le Fay. Out of the corner of his eye Shirou noticed Lancelot putting his helmet back on.

Morgana whispered something to the man in the full armor and he nodded to her. "It seems we are alone no longer. We have intruders in our midst. Do not let them leave this forest alive." The man shouted at his soldiers.

"It doesn't surprise me the caster would know the barrier was damaged. We'd better get out of here." Shirou sheathed his sword which he'd been holding on to since he'd cut the barrier.

"Agreed." Lancelot nodded.

The three of them bolted into the forest.

"There they are! Get to the horses!" Shirou heard someone shout.

"Here they come." Lancelot turned his head and looked behind him as he ran. He and Bedivere both drew their swords.

"You're not planning on fighting them are you?" Shirou exclaimed.

Hoofbeats thundered behind them as a few men started to catch up to them on their horses.

"Naturally they would not send everyone after three men. The largest of the force will stay back to defend their commander." Lancelot seemed rather confident.

"I count five men on horseback." Bedivere reported as he glanced back into the trees.

"You sheathed your sword too soon, they will catch up to us before we make it back to our horses." Lancelot said to Shirou.

The two knights skidded to a halt simultaneously and turned to face their attackers.

"Shit. I can't just run like a coward while they do all the fighting." Shirou mumbled to himself. He drew his sword and stopped as well. He stood next to Bedivere on his right with Lancelot at the end.

The soldiers on horseback approached at a gallop. A fully armored man running towards Shirou on a horse was really quite intimidating. He gripped his sword and his legs started to shake. Shirou couldn't help but wonder if Lancelot and Bedivere were really serious about fighting them. They were outnumbered, the only advantage they had on foot was maneuverability.

Two of the men paired off, raised their swords over their heads and got within reach.

It happened in an instant. As if it had been choreographed before hand the two knights ducked the swords swinging for their heads. The horsemen missed and rode passed. Before they got out of range however, the two knights bent their knees and jumped. They spun around, using their swords and the momentum their blades passed perfectly through the necks of both horsemen. The horsemen fell to the ground, dead without hurting either of their mounts.

Shirou's jaw felt like it dropped to the ground as he watched this. Did all of Arthur's knights have this kind of ability? It was almost inhuman, their reflexes were honed perfectly and their timing was perfect. Shirou thought their personalities clashed together, but it didn't seem to matter on the battlefield.

"Archers!" Bedivere warned. Behind the swordsmen riding single file to hide their numbers two bowmen revealed themselves.

"Tch. What a dirty trick." Lancelot grit his teeth and clenched his swords as the archers on horseback took aim.

"Shouldn't we be running?" Shirou suggested.

"A knight never turns his back on an enemy." Lancelot growled as he swatted and arrow out of the air.

More hoofbeats were heard entering the area and several more horsemen and archers started to approach them.

"I believe we should make an exception just this once." Bedivere suggested.

Lancelot growled in frustration. "Fine, to the horses then."

Arrows whizzed through the air passed them as they turned and ran. They dodged and weaved through the trees to confused the swordsmen, however the archers didn't need to be close to kill them. Lancelot and Bedivere had armor, but Shirou was at a clear disadvantage and the archers seemed to be deliberately aiming for him.

"GAAAH!" Shirou screamed out in pain as an arrow lodged itself in his left arm. He stumbled but still managed to stay on his feet. He wasn't about to die here, he wanted to go home and see his friends again. Hell even school started to look good now. He felt warm blood pour from the wound down his arm, and soon it was dripping off of his fingertips.

Shirou grit his teeth as he followed Lancelot and Bedivere through the forest and soon the horses were in sight. Another arrow whizzed by him and grazed his hip, cutting through his tunic and into his flesh. "Ah shit!" Shirou pressed his arm against the wound and kept running.

Lancelot and Bedivere reached their horses first, quickly jumping on. They looked back at Shirou.

"Hurry up!" Bedivere called urgently. The men were right behind Shirou now, archers still firing at all three of them.

Shirou got to his horse and painfully was able to make it up in the saddle. "Go! Go!" He kicked his horse in the ribs and urged it into a gallop with the two knights.

The men on horseback still galloped after then.

"You are wounded, are you all right?" Bedivere asked.

Shirou groaned painfully. "It really hurts, but I'll be fi-" His words were cut off by three extremely painful punctures in his back. His brain went fuzzy and he slumped forward on his horse. When they started riding, the archers must have gotten a very clear shot.

Shirou's vision was starting to grow dark. He could tell that Bedivere was yelling something at him, but Shirou couldn't hear what he was saying. Blood flowed from the wounds and ran down his back, he could feel the warm liquid trickling out of the holes in him.

The hands that gripped the reins on his horse fell limp. The last thing Shirou felt before his mind went completely dark was the gushing of air passed his body as he fell from his mount, and the pain of colliding on the ground below.


	12. Captured!

ACT XII - Captured!

Shirou woke up painfully. Every part of his body hurt, but the most painful by far were his arm and back. Sunlight filled his vision so he figured he was still outside. He tried to stand but found that he couldn't, after struggling he found that his arms were bound to a large tree. By all accounts, those arrows should have killed him, and he knew it.

"Sir. It appears as if the boy has awakened." A large soldier called.

Heavy footsteps approached and soon Shirou was greeted by the man in shining armor he'd seen earlier. He was clearly the leader of these men. The man approached and took off his helmet. His face was nearly identical to Arthur's.

"Who are you?" Shirou asked. Was he somehow related to the King? If so what in the world could he be doing out here? Shirou hadn't seen him around the castle, and had never heard mention of a son from anyone. The only distinct difference between the man before Shirou now and the King was that this man had bright red eyes and his hair color almost looked like it had been bleached.

The man knelt down in front of Shirou. "I do not think you are in any position to be asking questions." He narrowed his eyes. "I do have some questions for you. Now I will have you know that I am not some vulgar bandit, however some of my soldiers can be quite violent on command. Do you understand?" He asked.

Shirou nodded. He understood the situation well, if he didn't answer the questions he would probably be hurt. This man was in league with Morgana, something told Shirou he'd better watch himself.

The young man grinned. "Good. It seems you understand." He nodded with satisfaction. "First, would you care to tell me your name?" He asked rather politely.

"Shirou. Emiya Shirou." Shirou answered plainly. He could tell he'd probably be pumped for information, if he could help it he wanted to avoid revealing too much.

"I am Mordred. It is only fair I introduce myself as well." He probably introduced himself out of honor. He was being rather polite but Shirou could tell it was an act. Something told him that this man would kill him without a second thought if it came down to it. "You are not English. Where do you hail from Emiya Shirou?" Mordred asked.

He was unsure how to answer. No one here seemed to have ever heard of Japan. If he spoke truthfully, Mordred might think he was lying. "I'm from a country far to the East." He answered simply.

"So you came from across the sea? That is strange, since there have been no foreign ships in our waters for quite some time." As Shirou thought, Mordred didn't seem to believe him. This was the Dark Ages after all, relationships with a small country like Japan was practically non-existent. "How did you get here?"

Shirou scratched his head. "Well, I haven't quite figured that part out yet so I'm not too sure myself."

"Then would you care to tell me how you came to serve the King?" Mordred asked, upon mention of the King he narrowed his eyes as if he held some deep hatred inside.

Shirou explained that he had been captured and held prisoner in the castle. Afterward he'd been helped out a lot by Merlin.

"I see..." Mordred seemed to have become lost in thought. "You are a strange one." He muttered.

"So, what exactly do you plan on doing with me?" Shirou asked.

"Killing you would be such a waste since the King seems to value you so highly." Morgana came walking towards Shirou and Mordred.

"By all rights, with as many arrows my men put into you, you should be dead. Yet, your wounds have all but healed." Mordred examined Shirou's side where the arrow had grazed him. It should be oozing blood, but by now it just looked like a small scratch.

"Curious is it not?" Morgana grinned and cupped Shirou's chin, raising his head and bringing her own unbearably close. "I have seen such a thing before."

Shirou wrenched his head out of Morgana's grip and glared at her.

"You can't mean-?" Mordred looked surprised, his red eyes went wide and he turned to Morgana.

Morgana chuckled. "The King would never let such a thing leave his sight. I wonder if this boy stole it."

"Hey, I didn't steal anything! More importantly... what are you talking about?" Shirou tilted his head clueless.

"Where is the sheath?" Mordred narrowed his eyes and turned serious.

"Huh? Sheath?" Shirou was completely lost.

Morgana drew a knife from within her robes and approached Shirou. "Now now, you should tell us where you have hidden it. If you keep taking us for fools, something bad may happen to you." She said with an eerily sweet voice.

Shirou tried to back away, which was only about as far as pushing himself against the tree he was tied to. "I'm telling you, I have no idea what you people are talking about!" He exclaimed as Morgana pressed the cold steel knife against his throat.

"Unfortunate. It seems as though he is going to need some persuading." Mordred heaved a sigh and then turned to Morgana. "We do not have to worry about his life, however please refrain from puncturing anything important." He turned to walk away.

Morgana turned to Shirou and grinned. "I shall have you tell me everything. It is a good thing you will heal, you really are quite cute." She dragged the blade of the knife gently down Shirou's body, making him shiver. She cut open the front of his tunic with a single slice and ran the flat of the blade over his skin.

"S-stop." Shirou stuttered.

"Then will you tell me where you have hidden it?" Morgana looked deep into his eyes.

"I told you, I don't know anything about any sheath!" Shirou shouted.

"I see. I admire your courage, but I will have you tell me in the end." Morgana smiled devilishly as she slid the tip of the blade towards Shirou's shoulder, right near the joint where arm connected to the socket. Morgana le Fay straitened the blade, put her palm on the tip of the handle, and sunk the blade deep into Shirou's shoulder.

Shirou's mouth opened as he screamed in pain when he felt the blade pierce his flesh. He could feel the tip of the blade nick the bone in his arm, it made a scratching noise as he watched Morgana mercilessly stab him while she grinned horribly. Soon his entire arm was covered in his own blood. Shortly after he fell unconscious.

()()()

The doors to the throne room were flung open and the two knights returned to bow before their king. Half a day had gone by since the escape from the forest, the two knights Lancelot and Bedivere arrived back at Camelot as the sun had started to set.

"Your Majesty, we have returned." Bedivere reported.

"Should there not be three of you? Where is Shirou?" Arthur asked.

"Captured... if he is not already dead." Lancelot said.

Arthur stood up from the throne. "What? You left him there to die?" He narrowed his eyes.

"My deepest apologies. Upon escaping he was struck with several enemy arrows and fell from his mount. With all do respect, we deemed our report back to you more important than Shirou's life." Bedivere bowed apologetically.

Lancelot delivered the report on what they saw.

"I see, I suspected Morgana was behind it." Arthur scratched his chin. He then stood up from the throne. "One of our men has been captured! We will organize a party to retrieve him immediately." He declared loudly.

"Forgive me my Lord, but there is a high possibility he is already dead." Lancelot replied. "Furthermore, Morgana's forces have the advantage fighting in the forest we would be walking into an ambush. If he is alive, they would suspect we would come for him and lay a trap." Lancelot explained further.

"Then we shall simply spring the trap. I am not convinced that Shirou has been killed, and I am not willing to leave one of my men to die." Arthur denied Lancelot's concerns.

"Very well, I shall organize a party to go after him." Bedivere bowed.

"No you will not. I will see to this matter personally. If Morgana is involved, I would like to have a talk with her. This armored knight you saw leading the men as well." Arthur replied.

"Something so small, should it not be left to one of us instead?" Bedivere asked.

"Consider it looking after an investment. I do not want to see Shirou die, therefore I will bring him back. It is a simple matter, but one that I wish to do myself. That is all." Arthur turned to the men at the door.

"Fetch me 30 men and saddle my horse. We ride at dawn." Arthur commanded.


	13. A Daring Rescue

ACT XIII - A Daring Rescue

The Camelot castle town was in a buzz. The entire town new about the King's decision to ride off and rescue a single man. What the villagers did not know was much about this person. His circumstances were unknown, he had arrived in town over the back of a soldier's horse and brought to the castle as a prisoner. The only people in town who seemed to know anything about him were two village girls. Lina and Elise.

The doors of the castle were flung open. Many men gathered outside on horses, heavily armored and ready for battle. Down the steps of the castle came their King Arthur. Excalibur at his hip, armor plating covered his breast, gauntlets on his hands and feet. The wind in the morning blew his blonde hair in the wind as he observed the relatively small force he had chosen for the rescue.

"My Lord, we have gathered the men as you commanded." Bedivere approached and knelt.

Arthur nodded. "Good. We're moving out!" Arthur mounted his white horse. "Soldiers, forward!" He commanded in a booming voice.

"SIR!" The soldiers boomed back and began to move out.

The mounted unit marched through the town. The unit held 30 mounted soldiers, the two nights Lancelot and Bedivere, and the King himself. The mission was not to kill Morgana, she may not even be there anymore. Arthur's priority was to quickly hit the enemy and rescue Emiya Shirou while quickly escaping before Morgana and her soldiers knew what happened.

"Um... excuse me your Majesty?" A girl with red hair asked Arthur as he rode through the town. Another blonde girl jogged beside her to keep up with the soldiers.

Arthur looked down at the girls. "Yes? Can I do something for you?"

"You are going to get Shirou back are you not? He was the one who was taken right?" Lina asked.

Arthur nodded. "Yes, if things go as planned."

"Please bring him back safe." Elise pleaded, looking up at Arthur.

Arthur cracked a small smile and nodded towards the girls. "Of course I will bring him back. I am glad he has someone like you two looking out for him."

The girls held back and didn't leave the safety of the village. They watched Arthur leave.

"Did something seem a little strange about the King to you?" Lina tilted her head curiously.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Elise replied.

Lina put her hands on her hips and took on a troubled expression. "I do not know how to explain it. Did the King's chest seem a little... big?"

"Big? I think you are imagining things, it had to be his armor." Elise looked confused at Lina's reaction.

Lina chuckled. "Of course, you are right. There is no possible way for King Arthur to be a woman."

()()()

_Several hours later - Morgana's Camp_

"Why do you insist on doing that?" Mordred approached the tree where Emiya Shirou lay unconscious. Morgana knelt in front of him and pulled a jagged blade out of Shirou's side. She stood up and tossed her hair over shoulder.

"What do you mean?" She grinned viciously as she clutched the dagger still dripping with Shirou's fresh blood.

"You are Morgana Le Fay, the most feared Witch in the history of the world. An experienced Magus, surely you can simply manipulate the boy's mind to tell you what you want. Why do you use physical methods?" Mordred asked curiously.

Morgana chuckled. "I enjoy causing pain. It is not often I get to enjoy torturing a prisoner. It is quite simple really. This boy is a rare treat, he will not die no matter what I do to him."

"Did you at least get him to tell you anything?" Mordred looked impatient.

Morgana heaved a sigh. "No. Until the end he swears he has no idea what I am talking about. Either he has the will of God, or he is an idiot and doesn't realize he possesses Avalon. Even his eyes tell me he speaks the truth."

Mordred clucked his tongue. "That is troubling."

Morgana nodded. "Indeed it is. I want that sheath, gaining it is the first step in taking the throne. Without it we will have to rethink our strategy. This boy is Merlin's new pet it seems, there must be some reason he has been taking an interest in him. I think he is too valuable to kill for the time being."

"Then what would you have me do?" Mordred asked.

"We will take him with us, he could be a valuable tool in the future if properly persuaded. The boy also strikes my fancy. However, first we must leave this place. We have lingered too long in Arturia's kingdom, we should retreat for now. The King will surely come for this boy." Morgana explained with a smile. "I have business elsewhere, so I am leaving ahead." Morgana disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Very well." Mordred turned to his men. "Listen up! We are withdrawing! Pack up camp immediately!"

"Right away sir!" The captain saluted. "You! Get on it!" He pointed to one of the other soldiers and started barking orders.

()()()

_Outside the forest..._

"According to Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere, the camp is located here. Towards the far end of the forest" Arthur pointed on a map, his captains and commanders gathered around him. "You group will attack from this end while you attack from this end. Meanwhile I will take Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere and run them right up the middle. We estimate their forces to be around 40 or so, if they flee do not chase them. Our objective is to rescue Emiya Shirou." Arthur commanded.

"At your command." Lancelot nodded.

"Just give the word sir." One of the Captains saluted.

At the King's command everyone formed their respective groups while Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere stood at the King's side.

"Do you think this is all a bit daft? I mean here we are, going into the forest to rescue one person. Does that not seem a bit odd?" One of the soldiers whispered to the man next to him.

"Well, the way I see it is like this. This new kid, falls out of the sky or something right? He comes into the castle a prisoner, comes out Merlin's apprentice and running errands with knights. Even training with Sir Lancelot. Obviously the King sees this boy as worth something, who are we to question his judgment. We have not even met the boy, so we do not know the circumstances. All we have to do is whatever the King tells us." The other soldier whispered back.

The first soldier chuckled. "You almost make the boy sound like the King is training him for something. You do not think he wishes to make that young boy a Knight do you?"

"Cut the talk!" The captain shouted.

Arthur drew Excalibur and raised it into the sky, it's light almost brighter than the sun itself. "CHARGE!" He gave the command.

The mounted soldiers thundered into the forest, their weapons drawn.

()()()

"My Lord, we are under attack!" The captain ran towards Mordred.

Mordred ran to his black horse and mounted it. "It seems they came earlier than expected. How many men?"

"Unknown sir, they are coming in from all sides." The captain reported.

"No room to escape. We will have to fight them. Rally the men to me immediately." Mordred ordered.

"Sir it seems our men our fleeing. The King has come here wielding Excalibur." The captain reported.

"Cowardly bastards." Mordred growled. "Rally the men that remain. We need to regroup. Our forces must not be spread too thin." He ordered.

"As you command sir." The captain ran off.

The men retreated to Mordred's position and readied their weapons as Arthur's men began to roll through the camp. A bright line shined through the trees as the King and his two knights grew closer.

"Hold your ground!" Mordred roared as the two forces clashed. Mordred himself rushed to the front lines drawing his thick steel blade, the force and strength with which he wielded it could easily cleave a man in half. The thunder of the horses was echoing through the trees, about ten of Mordred's men had made it to their horses while the others were on foot or currently being destroyed by Arthur's men. Arthur's 30 mounted soldiers clearly had the advantage at this time.

Metal clashed, blood spilled onto the forest ground. The sound of bodies falling was a familiar sight. Mordred was a fierce warrior, almost as good a swordsman as any Knight. Alone he himself could take on ten men, however he was at a disadvantage of this mounted unit. He hadn't expected all the enemies men to be mounted, or to arrive so early. Morgana must have knew, and that's why she went ahead.

Mordred's forces were quickly being overwhelmed, at this point they would be unable to take Emiya Shirou and retreat. Mordred would rather not have to fight the King here, so the only option was to order the retreat and leave Emiya Shirou who still lay tied to the tree unconscious and bleeding.

"Dammit! Retreat! Fall back and retreat!" Mordred ordered. Fortunately, his helmet was on so it was unlikely that they would be identified. He rose his sword into the sky. Just as he and the remainder of his men retreated into the forest, Mordred caught the King and his knights riding through the camp.

()()()

"My Lord, we have completely driven them off. The camp is ours." The captain reported. Meanwhile Lancelot and Bedivere had split away and were now searching the camp.

"Excellent. Were you able to identify their commander?" Arthur asked from atop his white horse.

"No we were not, I am sorry." The captain bowed.

"No matter, I do not think we will see them again any time soon." Arthur turned towards the direction that the men had fled to.

"I have found him!" Bedivere called from across the camp.

Arthur and Lancelot rushed towards Shirou while the rest of the soldiers began to set up a perimeter at the orders of the Captain.

"Is he alive?" Arthur asked as he approached Bedivere who was knelt down by a tree.

Shirou was slumped down on the ground, his arms were tied behind his back. His face was beaten and bruised. His clothes were torn and there wasn't an inch of his body that wasn't covered in his own blood. Even the ground under him was soaked with it, the smell was heavy on the air. There were even some fresh wounds on his face and chest that hadn't healed yet. Morgana must have continued attacking him even after he fell unconscious. Arthur's eyes widened when he saw Shirou's condition.

"He is breathing, but only just." Bedivere reported after puting his hand on Shirou's chest. After that he took out a knife from behind his back and cut Shirou's bonds.

"Good. We will get him back immediately." Arthur nodded.

"Sir, there is one more thing." Bedivere said as the King was about to turn around.

"Yes?"

"I should think that a wound to cause this much blood to be spilled would kill any man. What's more, most of it is fresh." Bedivere narrowed his eyes.

"That does not matter right now. Since he is breathing, our only concern is to get him back to Camelot alive. We will think about such things when we are out of this forest. We are moving out now. Sir Bedivere, please take him on your horse and go ahead of everyone else. Make haste." Arthur ordered.

"It shall be done." Bedivere saluted before picking Shirou up off the blood soaked ground and began to carry him towards his horse. Shirou's body was limp, he must have undergone some terrible things to be unconscious through the whole battle.

_The next day..._

"GUHAAAAAAAAH!" Shirou sat bolt upright and let out a scream. He was covered in sweat and he could still feel the cold steel of Morgana's knife in his flesh. Before he knew he there were a couple of hands on his chest. It seemed his chest and his arms had been wrapped in bandages and his body had been cleaned of all the blood. He had been well cared for.

"Hey, hey. It is all right, you are safe." He heard a worried female voice by his side. When he looked over he saw several people. Lina and Elise were sitting in chairs by his beside while Merlin and Sir Bedivere stood next to them. The woman that had pushed him back down on the bed was Elise.

"Elise? Where am I?" Shirou mumbled and put his hand on his head. It felt like it was as hot as blast furnace, his entire body was burning up.

"You were rescued by the King. You are in Camelot, we were given special permission to watch over you." Elise explained simply.

"We saw them bring you back, we thought you had died." Lina said with a worried look.

"Did I look that bad?" Shirou asked perplexed.

"With all due respect Shirou, you should have died with as much blood as there was on the ground." Bedivere looked just as concerned as the girls did.

"What about my horse? Is he all right?"

Merlin chuckled. "What kind of a man worries more about his horse than himself?"

"A knight does." Bedivere said with a faint smile.

"Your horse and your sword are both fine, they are waiting for you at your home. I hope I was not intruding by returning them for you." Elise said nervously.

"Nope. I'm glad you did, thanks." Shirou smiled.

"I believe The King has some questions he would like to ask you. I will go report to him that you've awakened right away." Bedivere bowed and left.

The girls looked at each other and giggled as Bedivere left.

"I never imagined we would see a knight so close!"

"I know! It is like I am dreaming!" They were whispering to each other cheerfully.

Shirou chuckled. "Oh, ow! That still hurts." He coughed as his chest felt like it was being stabbed again. "Glad to see you two haven't changed." He mumbled.

Later, Lina and Elise were forced to leave. They waved goodbye to Shirou, making him promise they would come see him when he was back on his feet, but not before Elise gave Shirou roll of bread for him to eat. Shirou was really grateful how his life seemed to have picked up here. He was happy that thinks worked out as they did, he knew that they could have turned out a lot worse.

About an hour later Arthur stepped into the room alone and closed the door behind him. "Are you doing well?" He asked and sat in the chair by Shirou's cot.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, I'm in a bit of pain still but somehow all the wounds have healed. Thanks for coming to rescue me." He replied cheerfully.

"Do you know why you were able to sustain so much damage and remain alive?" Arthur asked.

Shirou shook his head. "No, but I bet it has something to do with that sheath Mordred and Morgana were talking about."

"Mordred?" Arthur's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, I think that was who was leading the soldiers. Though Mordred himself seemed to answer to Morgana." Shirou explained.

"I see..." Arthur seemed to go deep in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Shirou leaned forward and asked.

"No, do not worry. Let us get back to the main subject. I know why you are still alive." Arthur looked serious.

"Really?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes, but I will need to confirm it. May I touch you?" He stood from his chair.

"Um... I guess. If it will figure this thing out." Shirou was a bit unsure.

Arthur approached Shirou and reach his arm out, placing his hand gently on Shirou's chest. Shirou shivered slightly, it didn't feel like a man touching him at all. The King's hand was small and his fingers were slender. In fact now that Shirou thought about it, Arthur didn't seem to have a whole lot of muscle anywhere. It did feel a little strange, but the King's face seemed serious so he was able to bear it.

"That is impossible..." Arthur muttered.

"What's impossible is that hand of yours." Shirou mumbled.

"Ahem. My apologies." Arthur quickly withdrew his hand and started to pace across the floor of the infirmary as if he was deeply concerned.

"Did you find out if you were right?" Shirou asked.

"Eh?" Arthur looked up at Shirou as if he had just spoken a different language. He looked like a completely different person.

"You said you thought you knew why I'm still alive. Did you find out?" Shirou asked again. It was strange, the King was clearly flustered but Shirou couldn't help but think he looked... cute.

"I... I do not know. Something is strange. Please stay here and rest, I must speak with Merlin." Arthur quickly left the room after that.

"Oh man, what the hell just happened?" Shirou was left clueless.


	14. Denial of Utopia

ACT XVI - Denial of Utopia

Shirou was left alone after Arthur left the room. He sat up on the cot and lifted up his shirt. Most of his chest and forearms were wrapped up, after examining himself a little he figured it was safe enough to remove the bandages. Most of the pain was gone and he soon discovered after the bandages were gone that his wounds were closed up as well. He heaved a sigh and turned his head to the window, on the windowsill were a change of clothes. He hopped out of bed and onto the floor, luckily he didn't feel stiff anywhere and he walked over to the window and threw on the fresh tunic and pants. They were a little loose, but luckily they had a thin strand of rope around the waist that he could tie up.

"This just keeps getting stranger and stranger..." He mumbled as he stared out the window. The sun was shining and there were only a few pure white clouds moving across the sky. From the window he could see the castle town below and the many people walking around living their lives. It made Shirou wonder once again what would happen to his own life now. Certainly there were times he enjoyed it, and the people around him were friendly, even if Lancelot and Arthur seemed a little cold at times. He hadn't seen Guinevere around lately and in the back of his mind Shirou wondered what she did to keep herself occupied.

His friends from Fuyuki were always on his mind. Sakura in particular. She must be worried sick by now. If there was one thing more than anything Shirou wanted to do, it would be to let his friends know he was all right. In his wildest dreams he never imagined something like this would happen to him. Kiritsugu never said anything to Shirou about time travel, and it made him wonder what other kind of crazy things magic was capable of.

"Oh good. You are up." Behind him Shirou heard a voice, he turned around to find both Merlin and Arthur standing in the doorway. Upon closer investigation Arthur still seemed to be eying Shirou suspiciously. "How do you feel boy?" Merlin asked.

"Um, I feel pretty good actually." Shirou scratched his head.

"From what the King said you should be dead." Merlin crossed his arms and crossed the room to stand in front of Shirou. Meanwhile Arthur stood in the doorway and remained silent.

"Honestly I don't remember a lot of what exactly Morgana did to me. My wounds do seem to have healed though." Shirou replied.

"Let us have a look then, sit down." Merlin motioned towards the bed.

Shirou did as he was told and sat back down. Merlin knelt in front of him and lifted up his shirt to examine him. At this point Shirou wondered what exactly was the deal with all the people wanting to touch him today. He hoped that at least Lina and Elise hadn't done anything to him while he was asleep.

Merlin looked curiously at Shirou's abdomen for a few seconds then turned to Arthur. "It is just as you say. You say it is still in your possession?" Merlin asked.

Arthur nodded. "Of course. I confirmed it just now. How can there be another one?"

Merlin stood up. "There should not be. The sheath this boy has should not exist. It seems to be embedded in his body." He explained.

"Would the two of you care to explain what the hell is going on?" Shirou said angrily. For the past couple of days people have been going on and on about this "sheath" and frankly it was starting to get on his nerves. He had no idea what they were talking about, yet everyone seemed to accuse him of stealing something he clearly hadn't.

"You are in possession of a sheath known as "Avalon". This sheath keeps the wielder alive, keeps them from aging, and protects them from sickness. It belongs to Excalibur and therefore... to me." Arthur stepped forward and explained.

Shirou's eyes grew wide as Arthur narrowed his eyes at him. "I swear, I didn't steal anything!" Shirou threw his arms up in frustration.

"Calm yourself. We know you have not taken anything." Merlin replied in a soothing voice, like a grandfather trying to calm a child.

"Then what is this all about?" Shirou said with a sigh. He was a bit relieved, but still confused.

"Avalon is one of a kind. If the King still has his, and there is another inside you, then that would mean that there are two when there should not be." Merlin explained.

"What do you mean inside me?" Shirou asked.

"It is as exactly as it sounds, the sheath is imbedded inside your body." Merlin replied.

"Well how the hell did it get there? I have no idea what it even looks like, I've never even seen it before."

"We were hoping you could explain it to us." Arthur crossed his arms.

"I keep telling everyone that I don't know." Shirou said with another groan.

"Be that as it may, it is what saved your life." Arthur said.

"Why is it that my wounds have never healed like that before? Up until I came here, my body has healed like any normal person's would." Shirou asked.

"That is because it requires magical energy to function. It will also activate if the sheath comes within close proximity of me." Arthur explained.

"What do you suggest I do about it?" Shirou asked.

"I can teach you how to remove it if you wish. However please keep in mind that it did save your life this time, and it may do so in the future." Merlin suggested.

"What do you think? Technically it does belong to you." Shirou asked Arthur.

Arthur thought for a moment. "I am not sure what I think about all of this. I am glad that it saved you, but it is strange for something that was entrusted to me to be used by someone else. For me, it is like seeing someone else using my arms or legs. However I will leave the choice to you." The King's expression was strange, almost like he was conflicted.

"I don't think this is something I can decide right now..." Shirou replied softly.

Merlin nodded and patted Shirou's shoulder. "Of course lad, take all the time you need." He then walked passed Shirou.

Arthur left first, casting a passing glance at Shirou as he left and Merlin followed behind and the two of them left.

Shirou left the castle and headed into town on foot. Most of the villagers still regarded him as a strange foreigner that appeared without explanation. However there were two girls who had warmed up to him. He wondered how they were doing, now that he was out of the castle he should at least go and let him know that he's alright. They did stay by his side and nurse him after all.

Shirou returned home. The horse outside his door neighed at his arrival, he patted the horse on the head and entered the shoddy house. On the table in the center was his sword, brought there by the girls. He took a look at it and then returned outside. He wouldn't need his sword today. The news of Avalon weighed heavy on his mind and he was still debating what to do about it. He took a look at his horse and mounted it. He would decide on the matter of the sheath after he relaxed a bit first.

Riding across the street to Lina's house, he dismounted his horse and knocked on the door.

"I will be there in a moment!" Lina's cheerful voice came from within the house. A minute or so later she opened the door and found Shirou standing there. "Shirou! Are you all right? Are you sure you should be walking around?" Lina asked while looking surprised.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for taking care of me." He answered her with a warm smile.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Lina asked as she leaned against the door.

Shirou shrugged. "I need to get my mind off some things. So I thought we could pick up Elise and go somewhere."

Lina smiled brightly and flung her blonde hair over her shoulder. "That sounds wonderful." She leaned towards Shirou and looked over his shoulder. "Are we going on your horse?" She asked hopefully.

Shirou nodded. "Of course. He should be strong enough to carry the three of us."

Lina giggled. "Alright, Elise should be at the bakery. You will have to convince her father to let her leave though." Without a warning Lina trotted forward and mounted Shirou's horse. "Let us make haste!" Lina said with excitement.

The bakery was on the other side of town next to the blacksmith. Shirou led Lina and his horse by foot while holding the reins. The townspeople in the streets looked at him and Lina curiously. It almost made him wonder about Lina and Elise as well. Why didn't they treat him like everyone else did?

They reached the Elise's father's bakery after about half an hour of walking. Lina hopped off Shirou's horse and approached the doorway. The shop didn't really have a door, and there was smoke coming out of a primitive chimney near the roof. The smell of bread was heavy on the air. It was a pretty plain smell as the people of this time didn't have a lot of spices and herbs to add to the bread, so it was pretty much just all wheat.

"Welcome!" A gruff manly voice greeted them. As Shirou and Lina entered the were met with a very large man. He was built like a bull, and just as hairy. He had a large bushy beard and he was wearing a brown apron. His hair of course, which was rather curly and messy, was just as red as Elise's. "Ah, Lina! Welcome!" His voice boomed with pleasure.

Lina trotted forward and hugged the large sweaty man as if she were his daughter. "Hello, Geoff." She replied sweetly.

"Who is this ye have with ye?" Geoff asked curiously, approaching Shirou.

"Emiya Shirou. You're Elise's father right?" Shirou asked. The large man seemed friendly enough, so there didn't seem to be any reason to be cautious around him.

"Aye. Ye must be the foreigner that me daughter seems ta have taken a shine ter. She has told me a little bit about ye." The large man named Geoff put his hands on his hips. "What brings Lina and yerself around here?" He asked.

"I was going to take Elise and Lina out somewhere." Shirou scratched his head.

Geoff approached Shirou slowly and leaned forward, putting his face right next to Shirou. "Are ye by chance, trying ter court my daughter?" He glared into Shirou's eyes.

Shirou gulped. If he said the wrong thing, this guy looked like he could crush his skull like a grape. He wracked his brain for something he could say. "I assure you my intentions are strictly noble, sir." He stared back into Geoff's eyes, however he could feel his legs shaking.

"GAH HAHAHA! Well then, the look in yer eyes cannae be lyin'." Geoff guffawed and clapped his large hand on Shirou's back. Shirou staggered forward, his back felt like he'd been hit with a hammer. "ELISE! There be someone out here wantin' ter see ye!" He called into the back.

Elise poked her head out of the back room around the corner. "Who is there Father?" She asked. When she saw Lina and Shirou there her eyes lit up. "Shirou! Lina!" She called to them and trotted forward. "I am glad to see you are up and walking." Elise turned to Shirou.

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of me. You er... didn't have to take off my clothes or anything right?" Shirou asked nervously.

Elise only grinned and uttered a small giggle.

"Elise? Did you?" Geoff asked and narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

"Of course not Father." Elise replied innocently.

"Bah, git outta here. Do not come back too late, or I'll tan yer hide." Geoff pushed the three of them out of the bakery and onto the streets where Shirou's horse stood waiting while eating some straw from the ground.

"So that's your dad?" Shirou asked Elise when she and Lina mounted up on Shirou's horse together while Shirou merely walked next to them.

Elise nodded. "Yes, he is my father. It is just the two of us here in Camelot." She held a small basket of bread that she must have taken when she left.

"What happened to your mother?" Shirou asked.

"She was taken by sickness when I was very young." Elise said sadly while fingering the thin silver necklace around her neck.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up." Shirou apologized.

Elise shook her head and smiled. "Do not worry, soon after that I met Lina. We have been together ever since." She said cheerfully.

"Yes, we are practically sisters." Lina smiled brightly and hugged Elise tightly from behind.

Shirou led the girls on his horse out of town. There was a nice river nearby that would be great for relaxing. Incidentally it was the same river that Lina had caught him bathing in the other day. It had a nice grassy bank, and it would be nice to lay out on the soft grass under the sunlight. Unfortunately his horse could not carry three full grown people, so Shirou forced himself to walk while the girls rode.

"So how did you two meet?" Shirou asked curiously.

"I was orphaned. I used to live in a village about a day's ride away from here. One day, bandits came and attacked the village. They burned the houses to the ground and killed everyone in it, including my mother and father. I survived only because I was in the fields when they attacked, so I hid in the tall wheat." Lina explained, her expression didn't change though she seemed to hold Elise closer.

"That was when my father found her, her clothes were torn and her face was burnt. She was wandering through the destroyed village crying for her parents." Elise continued.

"That's horrible..." What happened to Lina wasn't that different than what happened to Shirou, therefore it helped him identify with her a bit more.

"Shirou?" Lina called his name.

"Hm?"

"If you become a knight, you will stop that from happening to anyone else will you not?" Lina asked hopefully.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah. I'll do my best."

_"You are a sword to protect the people, Emiya Shirou." _The words rang in his head.

"I am the bone of my sword..." Shirou muttered.

"Did you say something Shirou?" Elise asked.

"Hm? Oh no, I was just talking to myself."

They reached the river a few minutes later. Lina and Elise hopped off of Shirou's horse with the basket of bread in Elise's hands.

"He is a very fine horse. Have you given him a name yet?" Lina asked as she petted the horse on the head.

"Er... not yet I haven't." Shirou scratched the back of his head.

"That will not do. You cannot simply refer to him as "Horse" forever." Lina put her hands on her hips and frowned at Shirou.

"Well come on then. Let us hear his name." Elise said impatiently.

Shirou closed his eyes to think. Such a noble animal as a horse should have a name to match it. The girls would probably keep pressuring him if he didn't come up with one soon.

"Hikari." Shirou said after a minute.

"Does that mean something in your language?" Elise asked curiously.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, it means Light."

"I think it fits him." Lina nodded in approval.

Now that the horse was named they went over and sat down on the river bank where Elise tossed Lina and Shirou a roll from the basket.

"My Father is the best baker in Britannia." Elise commented happily as she took a large bite from the roll.

"The wheat supply has been steadily decreasing because that village was burned down. I hope the bakery will not be affected." Lina said with a worried expression.

"Feh fupply fe haf fill fast uf afile." Elise swallowed. "When that is gone though, I expect tough times will be ahead."

Lina giggled. "You should not speak with food in your mouth Elise."

As she said that Shirou swallowed what was left of the roll.

A few hours passed. The three friends simply sat on the riverbank and chatted. Shirou asked the girls about their daily lives, and they asked about his. They were very interested particularly in his dealings with the King and his knights. The moving water of the river reflected the sunlight beautifully. Shirou couldn't help but think how beautiful this country was, no matter how many times he saw it, it didn't get any less beautiful.

"Oh how lovely! Look at the sunset!" Lina exclaimed and pointed across the river.

The rolling green hills of the countryside stretched out as far as the eye could see. The sun was now dipping below them, bathing the land in a golden glow. The earth itself looked as though there were tiny dots of gold shimmering with the green of the grass. The wind blowing across the plains made the grass visibly sway back and forth.

"I guess we should be heading back. Any later than this and your dad will break me in half." Shirou said with a laugh.

Elise laughed. "He is really not that bad."

Shirou helped the girls on Hikari and they started back towards Camelot. They entered the town as it was starting to become dark, Lina had fallen asleep while leaning against Elise's back. Watching Lina was almost like watching a younger girl.

"ELISE! WELCOME HOME!" Geoff's booming voice came from within Elise's house as she opened the door.

"Goodnight Shirou." Elise waved and went inside. "Father, you should not be so loud this late in the evening."

"GAHAHAHA! TELL ME OF THIS BOY YOU WERE WITH!" Geoff seemed awfully cheerful for some reason.

Shirou left them behind, making sure Lina was still secure slumped over Hikari. Reaching her house, he picked her up. She was surprisingly light. Shirou entered her house, pushing open the door with his hip.

"Mmm." Lina stirred in his arms, she opened her eyes and looked up at Shirou. "Did I fall asleep?" She asked and rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, you missed the ride back. You're home right now." Shirou answered her casually, though it felt strange to be carrying a girl in his arms. He could have sworn his heart skipped a couple of beats.

"I see. Thank you for carrying me." Lina yawned softly.

"Don't worry about it." Shirou laid her down on the bed against the wall and covered her up.

"Um... y-you can stay if you wish." Lina blushed furiously.

"I er... think I'd better go. There's something I have to do first anyway." Shirou backed away from Lina.

Lina frowned. "As you wish. Good night Shirou."

Shirou left Lina's place and mounted Hikari. He started up the hill towards the castle. He'd made up his mind. Once through the gates he made his way towards Merlin's tower in the back. He approached the door and raised his fist to knock. To his surprise the door opened.

"I had a feeling that you would be back tonight." Merlin greeted him with a smile.

Shirou nodded. "I've made my choice."

"And what would that be?" Merlin asked curiously.

"Teach me how to take Avalon out. This thing inside me, it's not mine. If I'm to protect the people, I want to do it using my own strength without relying on something else. I don't know how long the protection will last, so I don't want to rely on it. My own strength should be enough. Also there's the fact that this thing isn't even mine, the King wasn't pleased at all about me having it. I could tell." Shirou explained.

"An admirable decision. Very well. However we shall remove it tomorrow, it will require a lot of energy out of you."

"Alright, good night Merlin." Shirou waved.

"Sleep well, Emiya Shirou." Merlin left and closed the heavy wooden door behind him.


	15. Gaia

ACT XV - Gaia

"So you see, you can sense magic that is not your own within your body and purge it using the technique I just demonstrated. Removing Avalon this way should be simple" Merlin explained.

It was the next day and Shirou went to Merlin in the morning to teach him how to remove the sheath from within his body. The choice wasn't an easy one, Shirou told himself that if he was to become a sword of the people than he should not have the sheath. He should give it to someone who truly needs it. Lina entered his mind just then. Shirou sat in Merlin's tower as the old wizard instructed him.

"Clear your mind boy. Since you are recovered from your injuries your training will continue today." Merlin leaned forward in his chair towards Shirou.

"Right, I'll give it a shot." Shirou closed his eyes and did his best to push unnecessary thoughts out of his mind. Using the technique Merlin taught him he traced his own magic within his body. Shirou's own magic appeared as a green color. He delved deeper until he came across a golden color somewhere within his body. It appeared in the shape of a sword sheath. Concentrating, Shirou began the process of purging the unwanted energy within his body.

His body grew hot as the foreign energy began to flow through his body, it felt like molten metal was running through his bloodstream. Shirou's eyes remained closed, but Merlin made no sound and just appeared to sit quietly to allow Shirou to concentrate.

Even with his eyes closed, a bright golden light began to shine through his shut eyelids. Soon the foreign magical energy was completely purged from his body and Shirou opened his eyes.

In front of him was a glowing golden sheath. It was beautiful, a work of art. It was the first time Shirou had seen it, despite being accused of stealing it. This thing was in his body and protected him, now he'd give it to someone else and it would protect them.

"So that's Avalon?" Shirou reached out and ran his hand across the smooth surface of the sheath.

Merlin nodded. "Indeed, the Holy Sheath crafted by Faeries to accompany the Holy Blade Excalibur."

Shirou looked at the sheath and he found that it started to feel sort of strange. It didn't feel tangible anymore, like it's existence had started to fade. It's glowing had grown dim, and starting from the tip it looked as though it was being taken apart piece by piece. After a few moments, the entire sheath shattered into tiny golden shards and faded from sight and existence leaving no trace of it's magical energy behind.

"Hey wait!" Shirou gasped and watched as the last of the energy faded away. "What just happened?" Shirou turned to Merlin.

After stroking his beard for a moment Merlin's eyes grew wide in surprise. "My word, I believe Gaia has crushed it." He said in disbelief.

"Crushed? What do you mean crushed? Who the hell is Gaia?" Shrou asked in frustration.

"Calm yourself boy and give me a chance to explain." Merlin patted Shirou's head.

"Don't pat my head!" Shirou growled.

Merlin chuckled and then cleared his throat. "Gaia is the spirit of the Earth. It is everywhere, in the air, the water, the earth, everything." Merlin explained and made wide movements with his arms. "When there is an error of some kind, then naturally Gaia corrects it to preserve balance."

"So then, I take it me having Avalon was an error?" Shirou scratched his head.

Merlin shook his head. "No, the sheath you possessed was authentic. However it became an error when you came here with it. Do you know why?"

"Er... isn't that because there were two of them?"

"Exactly! There can be only one Avalon, so naturally yours had to be crushed since it should not exist here." Merlin explained.

"Isn't it the same with Projection Magic?" Shirou asked.

Merlin nodded. "Indeed it is, very good. When you forge a weapon that should not exist, Gaia will attempt to crush it. It will be harder for you to maintain it's existence. Make sure you keep that in mind."

Shirou heaved a sigh. "Still, I didn't want it to get destroyed. I wanted to give it to someone."

Merlin shrugged his shoulders. "It can not be helped. Now then, do you feel up to your training with Lancelot?"

Shirou nodded. He hadn't trained in a couple of days, it wouldn't be good if he got rusty from lack of practice.

"Good, I am sure he is already waiting for you. From here on, I want you to project the swords you use in your training with him. You must completely master your Projection Magic if you are to be of any use in a battle." Merlin instructed casually.

Shirou stood up from his chair. "I'll do my best."

"One more thing. You should inform the King about what just transpired with sheath. I am sure he will be interested." With that last word Merlin shoo'd Shirou out his door and to the training ground.

Just as Merlin predicted Sir Lancelot was already standing with his sword drawn. "What the hell is up with that old man? Everything he predicts happens." Shirou grumbled to himself.

Lancelot was staring up at the sky but looked directly at Shirou when he approached. "You are late boy. Where is your sword?" Lancelot narrowed his eyes.

"I have a name you know. Even the King uses it." Shirou replied. Lancelot's attitude sometimes got on his nerves. He was so damn cold yet he was supposed to be training Shirou. He acted less like a teacher and more like someone who just wanted to beat up on him.

"Answer my question. How do you expect to me to teach you when you did not even bring your sword?" Lancelot ignored him.

"Trace, On!" Shirou growled and switched on his magic circuits. Projecting the mana through his body he forged a sword identical to the sword Merlin gave him. He gripped the familiar handle and raised the point at Lancelot. "You're really starting to piss me off." Shirou growled again.

Lancelot chuckled. "Your blood is boiling it seems. Your anger can make you a powerful enemy if you know how to harness it."

"Shut the hell up. Today is the day I cut you!" Shirou growled and raised his sword to charge into the ring. He was pissed off, between the unfortunate incident of Avalon disappearing and Lancelot's attitude he'd completely lost it. Also it was possible that all the pent up frustration and stress he had been dealing with since arriving was coming out now, released by Lancelot.

Lancelot didn't even to appear to take a stance as Shirou charged at him. He just simply watched Shirou's movements as he drew closer and closer, running across the field until he was close enough to bring his sword down at Lancelot's head.

"You still need more training." Lancelot grabbed Shirou's arm before he was able to bring it down. In a single fluid motion he stuck his foot in front of Shirou's, knocked him off balance and flung him on his back. Before he was even aware of what happened, Shirou's world had been flipped upside down and he was laying on his back at Lancelot's feet.

Shirou heaved a sigh and stared up at the sky, a second later Lancelot filled up his vision. "You are not yourself today. Is there something wrong?"

"It's too early for someone like you to be worrying about me." Shirou clucked his tongue and watched the sword he projected fade away as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Has your anger been sated? You should train with a clear head." Lancelot heaved his sword up onto his shoulder.

"No, but my head is clear at least." Shirou projected the sword again and held it at his side.

Lancelot chuckled. "That will have to do. Prepare yourself." Without another word he charged in.

Lancelot's training with Shirou had evolved to little more than duels. Lancelot didn't talk as much as he did the first week, maybe he ran out of advice to give Shirou. Shirou didn't have a technique and Lancelot refused to teach him one, saying that "One's fighting style should be one's own."

Since then he'd begun to try different things when fighting Lancelot such as stances and movements. None of them did any good of course. Today, Shirou decided he would fight wielding a sword in just one hand to keep his other hand open. He had planned to grab Lancelot but he would never get the opportunity as Lancelot danced around fluidly leaving no openings.

"Trace, on!" Shirou projected a second sword in his other hand. He was beginning to get used to the weight of the sword in one hand so it shouldn't be any problem to use one in each hand.

"Hm, experimenting again?" Lancelot looked curiously at Shirou's new style before continuing his attack.

After a few minutes of testing the new technique, Shirou found it was surprisingly easy to defend himself against Lancelot with two swords. What's more, it was easier to defend and attack at the same time. "Hey, this isn't bad!" He said with a grin.

"Your movements are getting better." Lancelot said as he continued to cross swords with Shirou. After a particularly bold move by Shirou, Lancelot stepped in close with his sword and flung one of Shirou's away.

Shirou flipped the blade of his remaining sword around and blocked Lancelot's follow up strike. Shirou jumped back and traced another sword as quickly as he could. His projection in battle situations was getting better, he was now able to cast magic while under pressure relatively well even though Lancelot still intimidated him quite a bit.

"Didn't I tell you that I'd cut you today?" Shirou replied with a smirk.

"You can defend yourself well, however I think striking back is still beyond your capabilities. I will admit this new style works for you, I think you should develop it." Lancelot aimed a stab at Shirou's chest.

About an hour passed by and Lancelot and Shirou were still fighting. Lancelot had not managed to land a hit on Shirou all this time, however Shirou also could not strike back. They had been trading blows for quite some time, long enough to draw a crowd. Along the ring where they were fighting a few soldiers had started to gather, eager to see the boy who was defending himself against a Knight using two swords.

"Who is this boy?"

"Have you not heard? He is the one that fell from the sky."

"The sky? Are you daft?"

The sound of swords clashing drowned out the idle chatter of the men watching. After another half an hour Shirou was beginning to get very tired and his movements were becoming sluggish, his muscles ached and his body wouldn't listen to his orders. The soldiers gathered around them cheered for Lancelot when Shirou's swords fell from his hands.

"You have improved greatly." Lancelot said as he sheathed his sword. The crowed groaned in disappointment and started to disperse.

"I still didn't manage to hit you even after all that." Shirou said with a laugh and plopped down on the ground for a rest.

Lancelot laughed. "I would not be much of a Knight if you did."

"Hmm, I guess you're right." Shirou laid on his back. He heard the sound of Lancelot walking away in his heavy armor. He seemed to have a better opinion of Shirou after today. Now that he thought about it, Shirou had never seen him laugh before.

Shirou picked himself up off of the ground. Before he went home, he figured he might as well go to inform Arthur about what happened with the sheath. He entered the castle without much trouble. By now the guards knew who he was and didn't harass him anymore. The King wasn't in the throne room, but Shirou saw Sir Bedivere leaving it.

"Sir Bedivere." Shirou called to him.

"Hello Shirou. Is there something I can do for you?" Bedivere stopped to greet him back.

"Actually yeah, I need to speak with the King. Where is he?" Shirou asked curiously.

"I believe he is speaking with Lady Guinevere. Their chambers are up the stairs through that door. Please mind yourself along the way." Bedivere instructed.

"Thanks." Shirou waved to him and turned away.

"Shirou?" Bedivere called to him.

"Yeah?" Shirou turned around to face him.

"I am glad to see you are all right." After that Bedivere hurried out the door.

"What was that all about?" Shirou scratched his head in confusion.

He turned around and went up the stairs as Bedivere told him. When he reached the top he found that this area looked completely different from the rest of the castle. Expensive tapestries lined the walls and the floor had a red carpet running the length of it. There were tables lined on the outside of the wall with candles hanging from the walls. This part of the castle had a warm feeling to it unlike the rest of the halls downstairs.

"Hm, not bad." Shirou looked around as he walked around. He listened for the sound of people talking but he couldn't find anyone.

The wooden doors here were actually pretty thick, but the hall was quiet so it was possible to hear things from inside of a room. He passed a room at the end of the hallway and stopped. He thought he heard something inside, it was probably nothing but Shirou opened the door anyway.

The room inside was very fancy, there was a desk, a drawer, a mirror, and a large window with fancy curtains drawn.

"Eh?" A gasp came from inside the room. On the bed sat a girl. Her eyes went wide when she saw Shirou come in the door. She was changing, she sat on a bed in her underwear and was wrapping a cloth around her breasts. Her hair was done up in a bun tied with a blue ribbon. The girl looked exactly like King Arthur.


	16. Arturia

ACT XVI - Arturia

"..." Shirou was stunned. It couldn't be real, it just couldn't. He wondered if King Arthur had a sister, but that couldn't be right at all. This girl in front of him looked way too much like Arthur, even to be a twin.

"Shirou, if you would like to speak with me then I will ask you to wait just a moment." The woman said calmly as she continued to wrap the cloth around her chest. Her breasts weren't big, but they were clearly noticeable, what's more she didn't seem the least bit embarrassed about Shirou seeing her body.

"S-Sorry! I was looking for the King, I didn't know you were in here!" Shirou stuttered and quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. He pressed his back against the closed door and took a deep breath. His heart was pounding. Who was that? How did she know his name? His head felt like it was going to explode from sheer confusion.

Shirou stood rooted to the spot, unable to move or get that girl out of his head. She was quite beautiful, but he'd never seen her around the castle before. So many questions were running through his mind, that he didn't even feel it when the door he was leaning on opened from the inside and he fell backwards onto the stone floor behind him.

He landed with a thud on the ground and saw the girl wearing clothing similar to Arthur's standing over him looking at him curiously with her bright green eyes. "What in the world are you doing?" She asked as she looked down at Shirou.

Shirou cleared his throat and stood up, dusting himself off. The girl watched him with her head tilted in confusion. "I'm really sorry about that..." Shirou bowed deeply in apology.

"Shirou please raise your head. You are acting very strange." The woman spoke as if she knew him very well, making a motion with her hand for him to raise his head.

"How do you know my name? I don't think I've ever seen you around here before." Shirou scratched his head clueless.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "I do not appreciate these kinds of games. You were speaking with me only yesterday in the infirmary."

The realization hit Shirou like two tons of bricks falling onto his head. He knew everyone that he spoke to in the infirmary, Lina, Elise, Merlin, Bedivere, and Arthur. Clearly this girl fit the description of only one of these people.

"A-Arthur? King Arthur?" Shirou asked in disbelief.

The girl nodded.

"You're... a girl?" Shirou was completely blown away. King Arthur was a girl? It seemed so impossible, yet here she was, staring him in the face with a strange expression.

"I am the King. My gender does not matter." She replied plainly.

"But... Arthur is a man's name isn't it?" Shirou asked.

"My name is Arturia. I believe you were there when Morgana called me as such." She grit her teeth as she mentioned Morgana.

Now that she said it, Shirou did remember something about that. Now it was all coming together. However he still had trouble believing all of this. King Arthur should be a girl, the legends state it so. How could they all have been wrong?

"Why do you hide it? Does anyone else even know?" There had to be some reason she hid her gender. Shirou couldn't think of any reason someone should hide who they are, especially a King. He was curious what her reasons are.

"There are very few who know. Merlin of course, my Queen, and a select few of my Knights." Arturia explained casually. "My reasons for hiding it are my own. The second I pulled out the sword my fate was sealed as the King."

Fate was sealed? Gender doesn't matter? What kind of crap was that? If a girl this young knew what was going to happen, why would she pull out the sword? Didn't she want to have a life? Shirou was beginning to understand a little more about how Bedivere felt. Arturia didn't seem very happy with her position at all despite doing the best she can.

"Now then, would you care to inform me as to why you came here in the first place?" Arturia asked impatiently.

Shirou was brought out of his contemplation by her question. Questions about her life were best left for another time, for now he should just get what he came here for out of the way in the first place. "It's about Avalon, er... the one inside me. I took it out."

Arturia's eyes widened in surprise. "Where is it now?"

Shirou heaved a sigh. "Merlin said it was crushed by Gaia, so it no longer exists."

"I see... thank you for informing me. I must admit I did not expect you to give up it's power." Arturia said with troubled expression. She looked like she was deep in thought about something.

One thing however was weighing in on Shirou's mind. "You're not going to have me executed are you?" He did just find out the King's most protected secret.

Arturia shook her head. "No, but I will ask you not to divulge what you have seen to anyone else."

Shirou nodded. "Of course, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Please see that you do not. Also, I would ask you not to treat me any differently than you have been in the past." Arturia requested calmly.

"I'll do my best..." To be honest, Shirou didn't know if he could or not. He'd just found out one of the most famous Kings in history was in fact a woman. Asking him to not to treat her differently might be rather difficult.

"Good. Now if you will excuse me I have much to do." Arturia walked passed Shirou out of the room and started to make her way down the hallway.

"Um, Arth- er... Arturia. I have one more question." Shirou asked hesitantly.

"Yes, what is it?" She stopped and turned to face him.

"There aren't any others hiding their identity like you are there?" He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I would suggest that you do not delve in to such matters. If such a person existed and wanted you to know, then I suspect they would tell you themselves." Arturia replied without much emotion.

Well, it wasn't like he was expecting to find out everything at once. Shirou nodded to Arturia and bowed once more. "I won't keep you anymore. Again I'm sorry for what happened earlier."

"Please do not be so concerned about it, it is unfortunate that you discovered me like that however for some reason I cannot be angry with you for it. I believe keeping a closer eye on you may be necessary though." Arturia replied, her face contained little emotion as it usually did. She almost seemed heartless on the surface.

"Er... really? I don't think that's needed is it? I mean it was just an accident." Shirou didn't like the idea of being followed around all the time, judging by how his luck had been lately it would probably end up being someone he really didn't want.

"You look as though you have more to say." Arturia muttered and leaned forward to examine Shirou's face.

She got way too close so Shirou ended up leaning backwards a little. Up close, her face was quite beautiful. Her skin was white and it looked very soft and clean compared to everyone else's he'd seen. "W-Well, I do have a lot more questions." He stuttered.

"That is to be expected after what you have just seen. Your questions will have to wait however. If you have need of my audience again I would request that you speak with either Sir Bedivere or Merlin first instead of just trying to find me yourself. Now, I will take my leave. Good day." Without another word Arturia turned and walked away from Shirou.

Shirou watched her back as she left. It didn't look like the back of a King, she looked like a normal girl. Such a girl should have lived a normal life, she looked too small and fragile to be in any kind of battle. Shirou recalled the time when she'd touched his chest while looking for Avalon, he remembered how soft her skin was and how slender her fingers were. At the time it made absolutely no sense at all, but now he realized it was because it was a girl touching him.

Shirou shook the thoughts out of his head. "Man... what the hell am I thinking?" He mumbled to himself. After that, he retreated back down the stairs. His brain felt like it was boiling from what he'd just talked with Arturia about. The way she replied made it seem like there really were other people who were hiding something. "Treat her differently she says. It's too late for that." Shirou's perception of her was already changed.

"Merlin, I'll go talk to Merlin." He mumbled to himself and made his way out of the castle and around the back to Merlin's tower. Shirou pounded on the door a couple of times yet he found no one answered. Usually Merlin answered right away, despite he age he moved quite fast for an old man. Shirou waited for a few minutes before he decided that Merlin either wasn't there or was occupied with something.

Who else did Arturia say knew about her situation? Shirou had to talk to someone, he wanted to know more. Why does she hide who she is? Why does she keep going if it doesn't bring her happiness? Surely there was someone better that could rule the country than that small girl. "Bedivere!" That's right. Arturia mentioned that a few of her most trusted knights knew her secret, there was no knight closer to her than Sir Bedivere.

Sir Bedivere would surely understand how Shirou felt, he figured Bedivere was the one person he could talk to about this now that Merlin wasn't here. Shirou thought for a moment, the last time he saw the knight was coming out of the throne room. Now the he had something to do, Shirou returned to the castle to look for the knight.

Shirou asked one of the guards if he had seen Bedivere.

"I believe Captain Cardigan requested that he come to the armory. I would begin your search there." The guard informed him and pointed in the proper direction.

Shirou had very few dealings with the Captain, the most recent of which being brought to the blacksmith to have his armor commissioned. The Captain was less than thrilled whenever matters concerning Shirou were involved, probably because he still was not convinced that Shirou was trustworthy. After all, he was the Captain of the Guard in the castle, it was his job to be suspicious.

The hallway that led to the armory was naturally lined with guards. Compared to the ones Shirou saw around patrolling, these guys were the Heavy Guard, wearing similar equipment as the Royal Guard with their heavy steel armor and large halberds. They eyed Shirou suspiciously as he walked down the hallway, he could feel their gazes on him but thankfully they let him pass. It was a bit nerve wracking being watched all the time by people who had probably seen quite a few battles and survived. Shirou could only hope he'd get used to it soon as it made him pretty nervous.

There were no windows in this section of the castle, so the only light was the torches fixed on the walls flickering against the stone.

Shirou found the armory pretty easily, it was composed of a central chamber with many other chambers going off in different directions separated by doorways. The central part where Shirou was now standing looked almost like a break room of sorts for the guards. There were a few tables and chairs and there were even a few guards playing a game that resembled chess.

Shirou began poking his head into the different rooms, finding that they were filled with racks of weapons and armor.

"Hey boy! What are you doing in here?" He was greeted by an angry sounding man who turned out to be Captain Cardigan who was approaching him from across the room.

"Er... sorry Captain. I'm looking for Sir Bedivere, have you seen him around?" Shirou asked nervously as the Captain stared him down.

Cardigan jerked his thumb behind him towards the door. "You just missed him. I am surprised you did not pass him in the corridor." He seemed to have little patience for Shirou which made him wonder how busy a person the Captain was.

Shirou sighed. "Well do you know where he went?"

Cardigan crossed his arms. "I do not make it a habit of prying into a Knight's business. I simply had something to talk to him about, after that was finished it does not concern me what he does unless it affects my soldiers."

"Out of curiosity what was it?" Shirou asked curiously.

"If you must know, our new shipment of weapons we received was very poorly made. The metal was of poor quality, and the swords are much too heavy on the back end. I requested that this be investigated since it has not happened before. I would rather have my men use sticks than that trash." Cardigan growled.

"I see, that is a problem. Maybe I can do something to help?" Shirou suggested. If it was just something like an investigation, Shirou was sure he could handle that. At the very least he could maybe convince the King to send someone. If the soldiers weren't properly equipped, it could be a serious problem if Camelot was attacked.

"Yes, you can stay out of my way and let me do my job. I have no time to stand around and answer your every question. Your Knight is probably heading to the stables judging by the time." Cardigan then turned to the men playing chess at the table. "Get back on duty you maggots! This is not a tavern!" He shouted at them.

"Y-Yes Sir!" They replied simultaneously and hurried out of the room. Cardigan turned his back to Shirou and without another word to him, began to inspect the different rooms.

Shirou now figured he'd take the Captain's advice and head towards the stables. He found himself outside once again after making his way through the corridors and out of the entryway. He made his way across the grounds and towards the stables where the horses were kept.

There was no light except for that of the sun as Shirou entered the wooden building. There were a few cracks in the ceiling where the sun was shining through, he heard many horses huff at his arrival. Just as Cardigan had said, standing at the end feeding a horse something out of his hand stood Sir Bedivere.

He looked happy and held a faint smile on his face as he fed was what presumably his horse. In his free hand was a brush which he was using to clean the animal. Despite wearing his armor, he looked quite natural caring for the horse.

"Sir Bedivere?" Shirou called to him and announced that he was there. It was strange that the knight didn't hear him approach, if it would have been Merlin or Lancelot, Shirou felt like he would have been spotted long ago.

"Hm?" Sir Bedivere looked towards Shirou. "Oh, it is you, Shirou. Good afternoon." He nodded in greeting.

"Hi. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to find you." Shirou waved casually.

"I am sorry. Is there something I can do for you?" Bedivere replied.

Shirou took a good look around the stables. "I think it'll be better if we talk about this somewhere else."

Bedivere blinked in confusion. "As you wish. Shall we retreat to the garden?"

Shirou nodded. "Sure, that'll be good actually."

Sir Bedivere led Shirou out of the stables and back into the fresh air.

"What were you doing in there anyway? Don't you have someone that takes care of the horses for you?" Shirou asked as they began to make their way around the castle towards the garden.

"Of course there is. However a horse is a knight's most valuable companion next to his sword. If you do not take care of your companions yourself, then they will not take care of you." Bedivere replied.

"So you like to take care of your own horse?"

Bedivere nodded. "A stable boy is fine for the soldiers' horses. However I prefer to care for my horse myself. It is a lot of work, but he is my traveling companion as well as my friend. I enjoy it."

Shirou's own horse flashed into his mind. It occurred to him he hadn't been spending a whole lot of time with Hikari, maybe he should follow Bedivere's example. Shirou thought would try to get his horse a nice treat later. "Horses like apples right?" Shirou asked after a moment.

"Yes they do. However you must not feed them things like that too much, their stomachs are very sensitive." Bedivere replied.

The two of them reached the garden shortly after. They sat on one of the benches in front of the flowerbeds, the sun bathed the garden in a warm glow and the sweet smell of the flowers wafted on the gentle breeze.

"Now, what do you wish to speak with me about? It is quite rare for you to seek me out." Bedivere asked curiously.

Shirou explained what happened with Arturia and what he talked to her about.

Bedivere's expression dropped instantly. "I can understand your situation. The King's views on his... no... on her own life makes one troubled does it not?"

Shirou nodded. "I just had to talk to someone about it. You seemed to be the closest to her next to Merlin and the Queen."

"This secret is yours now as well. We must uphold it for the King's sake." Bedivere replied.

"I don't understand it. The King can't be happy can she?" Shirou said with a puzzled expression.

"No, it is quite obvious she is not. In all my years, I have never once seen her smile." Bedivere said sadly.

"What the hell is she thinking? Why does she keep it up if she's not happy?" Shirou couldn't fathom it. What would possess that girl to forfeit her own happiness to be a King?

Bedivere bit his lip. "Her sense of duty is like nothing I have ever seen before. I do not know why she does not care for herself."

"I can't even imagine how frustrated you must feel. I didn't understand when you told me about it the first time. However after finding out about this..." Shirou muttered.

Sir Bedivere hung his head. "I swore an oath to King and Country. If I were to focus my attention on making the King happy like I wish to, I would betray that oath. That is something that I cannot do."

Shirou couldn't even imagine how conflicted Sir Bedivere must feel. On one hand he had the oath he took as a knight, and on the other he had his desire to make a girl smile. "How do you deal with something like that?" Shirou asked.

Bedivere sighed. "I only have to hope that fulfilling my duties will one day make her smile. I only wish to be of help to her and the kingdom. Perhaps if it prospers as she wishes, then she will become happy."

"..." Shirou went deep into thought. None of his questions were answered, quite the opposite. He had even more to think about now.

Sir Bedivere stood up. "I believe we should not speak any more of this today. I do not know if I can succeed, but I wish to keep trying. Our King's happiness is just as important as our own, do you not agree?"

Shirou nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to find out more about her. I want to know why she does what she does."

"I would tread carefully on such matters. Please do not do or say anything foolish. I would hate to lose another companion. Now, I have some things to attend to. Take care of yourself, Shirou." Bedivere bid Shirou farewell before walking away and leaving Shirou on the bench in the garden.


	17. The Final Exam

ACT XVII – The Final Exam

Three days had passed since Shirou learned the King's secret, he of course had told no one however he was unable to meet with Arturia in that time to speak with her. It was almost as if she was avoiding him. The Knights seemed increasingly busy lately as if something was expected to happen, the passed two days Lancelot even ended their sword training session early. Shirou had no idea what the Knights did most of the time, occasionally he saw Bedivere wandering about doing things, however most of the time Lancelot just seemed to disappear without a trace. Sir Galahad was rarely seen at all, Shirou was unsure what he did most of the time or if he was even still in Camelot. He hadn't seen Galahad since before he left to investigate the forest where he met Mordred.

There was an uneasy air about the Castle Town lately as well. It was as if the very air was thick with tension. From what Shirou could gather, the remaining Knights not at Camelot were on their way back from faraway lands in search of the Holy Grail. Shirou vaguely remembered that King Arthur sought the Grail in life, but he didn't know much more about it than that. Before now, King Arthur had just been legend and legends weren't the sort of thing he was taught in school. Shirou knew how famous King Arthur was, but he didn't know much about the history surrounding him. As for the Holy Grail, Shirou had no interest in some wish granting cup. The only information that he cared about now, was the supposed return of the Knights.

Shirou wasn't sure how the people found out about the Knights' return but true or not, it had the entire town in a stir. Their feelings seemed to be a mixture of excitement and worry. To have all of the Round Table back in Camelot was a rare thing, it was proof that something major happened or was expected to happen soon.

"Pay attention boy, I will not repeat myself!" Lancelot shouted as he and Shirou stood in the training grounds preparing to start their morning duel. This morning was rather misty. A low fog clung to the ground and the sky overhead was grey. Shirou could smell the moisture in the air and he could tell that it might rain soon.

"Y-Yes sir." Shirou snapped back to reality. He'd been lost in thought, contemplating the gossip of the townsfolk regarding the Knights. Now he was facing Sir Lancelot who was glaring down at him and clutching his large sword.

"As I was saying, you have improved much in the time I have been training you and I believe there is no need for me to give you any more advice. I have done all I can, in light of this today I will be training you in a different manner." Lancelot explained in his usual tone of voice.

Shirou's eyebrows twitched. The way Lancelot just said that made the back of his hair stand on end. It was ominous, the way Merlin would explain something that would no doubt be painful. "What's that?" Shirou asked hesitantly.

"You are going to experience a real battle. You have not been in many, therefore you must get your body used to it." Lancelot explained as he adjusted the gauntlets on his wrists.

"How is that any different that normal?" Shirou asked in confusion.

Lancelot's sword lunged forward in an instant. The tip hurled towards Shirou at the speed of lightning, leaving him absolutely no time to react as he hadn't expected it. The black sword cut into his cheek, leaving a shallow cut but deep enough that a drop of warm blood trickled down his face.

Shirou wiped his cheek and looked at the blood on his fingertips. "What the hell was that for?" He replied angrily as Lancelot once again hung his sword at his side.

"If you make mistakes today, you will get hurt." Lancelot said casually.

Shirou backed up a couple of steps. "You're joking right? There's no way I can beat you!" Was he serious? Lancelot was acting like he was going to try and kill Shirou.

"Of course. I do not expect you to defeat me, I merely expect you to survive for one hour." Lancelot replied as he put a hand on his hip. "Naturally I do not expect you to stay within this ring as usual, you are free to retreat to wherever you wish and use whatever means you can."

"So what you're telling me is we're going to play a more deadly version of tag?" Shirou scratched his head, unsure and a little intimidated by Lancelot.

"I am not familiar with this "tag" of which you are speaking. However there will be consequences if I catch you. I expect you to at least fend me off an escape again." Lancelot explained again.

"Right… I don't suppose I have any say in this?" Shirou slumped his shoulders.

"I would not have set this task for you if I did not think you could complete it." Lancelot said confidently.

"What if the fight spills over into the village?" Shirou asked, still trying to talk his way out of the situation.

"As long as you pay attention to where it is you are going, no one will be harmed. I have spoke with Merlin about this as well, he ensures that this will be as good for the villagers as it will be for you." Lancelot replied impatiently.

"That sounds like something that old man would say… I don't see how this would be good for the village though." Lancelot spoke with Merlin about it? That would explain quite a bit, Merlin always seemed to be poking his nose around. Shirou was beginning to wonder about that old codger's sanity.

"I am sure you have heard the news about the Knight's returning. I would be surprised if you have not. The way that wizard put it is the two of us fighting would provide a distraction for at least a little while. No one will admit it, but things have not been going well in our land." Lancelot explained with a sigh.

"Not been going well?" Shirou tilted his head.

Lancelot held up his hand to stop Shirou. "We have wasted too much time as it is. We will begin now." He raised the tip of his sword towards Shirou.

"W-W-W-Wait a minute! You really are serious!?" Shirou exclaimed and began to back way from Lancelot.

"I would suggest you begin to defend yourself." Lancelot warned as he kicked off the ground and started to charge towards Shirou. He came at Shirou like a swift wind, his sword raised over his head.

"Shit!" Shirou jumped backwards to avoid Lancelot's swing. The blade cut through the early morning mist like a hot knife through butter. After getting a relative distance away towards the back castle wall, Shirou traced his sword and watched as Lancelot turned to come at him again. It seemed he really was serious.

"You are backing yourself against a wall." Lancelot reported as he closed the distance in an instance and swung at Shirou again.

Shirou raised his sword and blocked Lancelot's strike. Shirou pushed Lancelot back with all his strength and then ran around the corner of the castle near the garden. Lancelot was in full armor, and Shirou still had no protection and only wore a cloth tunic and pants. He couldn't exactly match hand to hand with Lancelot either, as any blow upon his armor would only end up hurting Shirou. His strategy as of now would be to try and get away from Lancelot and form some kind of strategy.

As Shirou turned into the garden he saw Guinevere sitting on a bench and teasing Azif with a long blade of grass. Azif meanwhile was on his back in front of the Queen and batting at the blade of grass that Guinevere was dangling in front of his face.

"Good morning, Shirou." Guinevere looked up at Shirou as he rounded the corner and greeted him brightly.

Shirou pressed himself against the wall of the garden and turned to the beautiful Queen. "Morn-" He was about to greet her back, but he heard heavy footsteps coming near.

Shirou bent his knees and rolled to the side. He saw that attack coming, right where he had just been standing Lancelot came around the corner and swung instantly. He must have known right where he'd been standing.

"Oh my!" Guinevere gasped and Azif growled and jumped up on the Queen's lap to defend her.

"Sorry, gotta go!" Shirou bid Guinevere goodbye as he began to run through the garden, leaving Lancelot and the Queen behind.

"Good day, my Lady." Lancelot nodded to Guinevere as he ran passed after Shirou. A loud crash was heard as Lancelot barreled through a couple of flower vases and broke them apart.

Guinevere watched them run off towards down with a smile. She patted Azif on the head and watched the two men until they disappeared from view. "It is going to be lively soon don't you agree, Azif?" She asked the lion cub who merely started to purr.

Meanwhile, Shirou was still being chased through the castle grounds. Shirou was heading towards town, if he could lose Lancelot in the streets then that would give him a chance. He had to survive for an hour, it had only been maybe a minute since Lancelot started to attack and it wasn't going to be easy losing the Knight. The one advantage was that Lancelot would be easy to spot coming since he was wearing heavy armor.

"Perhaps I put too much faith in you, all you seem to be doing is running away." Lancelot called from behind Shirou. Despite being in armor Lancelot moved surprisingly fast, Shirou could imagine how heavy that suit must be. To move in it like he was, was amazing.

"Shut up! It's not like I asked for this you know! Run slower or something!" Shirou called back to him. He was running as fast as his feet would take him, the only problem was he was running down a hill. If he tripped it could end badly.

_Meanwhile, in the village…_

Lina awoke in her house to the sound of the birds outside. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, taking a glance out the window at the sun. She didn't have anything in particular she wanted to do today, so she figured she would stop by the bakery and help Elise and Geoff.

"I would like to speak with Shirou again as well." She thought about the other night where she'd invited him to stay with her. It took all her courage just to ask him, yet he turned her down. Lina wasn't upset, she was happy just being around Shirou as she was with Elise. However when she was around him her heart began to flutter uncomfortably. Elise said it was nothing to worry about, but Lina wasn't so sure. She hadn't seen Shirou around lately, he'd been spending a lot of time up at the castle recently and the guards wouldn't let anyone in. It was difficult for a commoner to even approach the castle.

Lina heaved a sigh as she finished getting dressed. She laced up her boots and headed out the door. "Perhaps I should be patient. That Shirou does not seem too smart when it comes to matters of the heart…" She mumbled to herself.

Outside the village was in full swing. People were out taking care of their various chores even this early in the morning, idle chatter was heard along the streets mumbling something about Knights. Lina stepped out her door and onto the streets. She turned and took a long look at the castle on the hill and the road that led to it.

"Hm? What's that?" Lina mumbled to herself. On the downhill slope from the castle she saw what looked like a couple of figures running. Had something happened at the castle? Whoever they were, they were coming Lina's way with frightening speed. The one up front looked like they had red hair, and there was only one person Lina knew with red hair. "Is that… Shirou?" She strained her eyes.

By now Shirou had entered the village, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake. As he approached with Lancelot right behind him, he noticed that Lina was waving cheerfully at him from just in front of her house.

"Good morning, Shirou~!" Lina called to him and waved her arms over her head.

"Not a good time Lina!" Shirou shouted as he sped passed Lina so fast her dress fluttered.

Lancelot came flying by next. "I do not think you can run for an entire hour!" He said as he chased Shirou as he skidded on the road and turned a corner into an alleyway.

"He seems to be having fun." Lina said to their back with a smile. Come to think of it, it wasn't often one got to see a knight fight. As she thought that, Lina trotted off and followed Shirou and Lancelot down the street she saw them go. The way things were going, they seemed to be heading further into town.

Shirou had seemingly lost Sir Lancelot by taking a lot of quick turns and then doubling back to take a rest behind a wagon filled with straw in an alleyway between a couple of houses. He pressed his back against the house to catch his breath. It hadn't even been ten minutes but the Knight had been able to keep up with him almost the entire time, Shirou was beginning to wonder if he was even human.

"Trace, on!" Now that he had a moment to himself he was able to prepare himself a little better. He projected another sword in his off hand. He was able to defend himself pretty well with a sword in each hand. The sword Merlin gave him was light and easy to use so it was only natural to use two of them. Shirou took a deep breath. "Alright, that's enough rest for now." He poked his head around the corner he came from trying to locate Lancelot. However no one was in the alleyway, he was sure the Knight couldn't be very far away.

Shirou's heart began to pound with anticipation, staying in one place too long wasn't a very good idea. According to Lancelot he had to survive for one hour, however the problem was he couldn't run for that long, nor could he fight Lancelot that long. He wondered what exactly Lancelot expected him to do, but it was clear the Knight was serious about this test.

A snapping sound came from on the roof above Shirou, almost like a dry leaf cracking under someone's foot. Cautiously, Shirou looked up and saw a black figure standing there.

"Shit, he can climb roofs!?" Shirou exclaimed out loud and rolled to the side as the knight jumped from the roof and landed in the wagon in front of Shirou with a loud thud, causing straw to fly into the air. Thinking quickly, Shirou noticed that the wagon Lancelot had landed in had only two wheels in the middle and couldn't balance very well by itself. Clearly it was designed to be pulled by an animal like a horse, it had long posts sticking out of the front where the horse would be hooked up to and Lancelot was balanced precariously in the middle.

Running forward, Shirou grabbed the wooden posts and lifted it up causing the entire wagon to tip backwards. Lancelot was almost knocked off balance as he was forced to jump backwards onto the ground. Shirou didn't even get the satisfaction of seeing his face because Sir Lancelot had his helmet on with the visor down. It was pretty intimidating fighting a man in full armor who he couldn't even knock off balance.

Now behind the wagon, Lancelot put his foot on the back of it and pushed sending it rolling quickly towards Shirou. At this point, Shirou figured if Lancelot could balance on the wagon then he could at least have a good attempt at it. He bent his knees as the rickety wagon hurled towards him, when it was within reach he jumped into it and stood up with some difficulty. It was pretty hard to maintain his balance at first, but as the wagon continued to roll down the street he found it got easier. He watched as Lancelot started to chase the wagon with him in it, his heavy boots thudding on the ground.

"Ha ha! I can't believe that worked!" Shirou exclaimed as the wagon rattled down the alleyway and headed back to the main streets. His ride was moving pretty fast, Lancelot must have kicked it pretty hard to keep rolling like it was. Every bump he hit caused his balance to waver slightly, and there were quite a few bumps in the straw covered streets.

Lina meanwhile had been attempting to follow Shirou and Sir Lancelot. She'd followed them down the first alleyway by her house, but she lost them quickly after that. If they had been crossing swords it would have been much easier for her to follow because of the noise. She turned down another street and left the alleyway. Entering the main street again she heard a wagon approaching from the next street over, this sound normally wouldn't have caught her attention except she didn't hear the sound of a horse along with it.

Lina trotted between a couple of houses and into the next street, what she saw she never expected. A wooden wagon was moving all by itself towards her down the street, on top of it stood Shirou balancing on it like some kind of court jester. Even stranger was the fact that Sir Lancelot was chasing after him in full armor and both men were armed. Villagers were shouting and struggling to get out of the street as Shirou rolled down the middle of it, upon seeing the Knight though, a crowd was also starting to form and follow them just as Lina was.

Shirou looked back and saw that Lancelot was still right on his tail and catching up. He was at a disadvantage on this thing if Lancelot decided to tip it over, and it was starting to slow down slightly as well due to the weight Shirou's body had placed on it. Well, it wasn't like he expected to go the entire hour without crossing swords with the Knight. By Shirou's estimate it had been maybe twenty minutes since the chase started, which meant he wasn't even halfway finished yet.

Shirou leaped off the wagon as it slowed. The second his feet hit the ground Lancelot was already upon him, raising his sword above his head. "Prepare yourself!" He shouted as he closed in on Shirou.

Lancelot swung his sword down at Shirou's head. Shirou crossed his swords and blocked it, the first blow almost made his knees buckle down with the sheer force. Whenever they fought, it always amazed Shirou how strong he was. Shirou swung the sword in his right hand at Lancelot, causing him to jump back and retreat. Gripping his blade in both hands, Lancelot retaliated and aimed a heavy strike at Shirou's torso. Shirou twisted his wrists and blocked Lancelot's blow, however both of his swords shattered in his hands. The shards of the broken blades cut into his arms and the force of the strike sent him flying through the window of a house on the other side of the street.

"Ow ow ow…" Shirou staggered back to his feet. A sharp pain ran through his body from his back up to his head, it seemed like he'd hit something hard when he flew into his house and when he looked around he saw that he'd landed on a table and broken it. Thankfully it didn't seem like anyone was home. Shirou raised his hands and looked at them. There were now bloody gashes along his hands and wrists where the swords had cut him. Warm blood was now dripping down his hands and off of his finger tips. He clenched his fists and moved his fingers. Thankfully no muscles were cut even though the wounds were pretty deep.

"That shouldn't have happened…" Those swords should not have broken. The runes on the blades protected them from dulling or being broken, so why did they break when Lancelot struck them? "I'll worry about that later." Shirou mumbled to himself. Now wasn't the time for that, Lancelot would surely be inside the house momentarily so he had to find a way out and regroup. There was only a few seconds to spare. There didn't seem to be a back door. Acting quickly Shirou crept across the floor and pressed his back on the wall below the window.

Shirou's breathing was heavy, his hands hurt, and he would be unable to hear Sir Lancelot approaching due to the loud crowd now gathering outside. When Lancelot entered the doorway, Shirou should be able to escape through the now broken window and retreat to another position.

Finally Shirou heard the heavy footsteps he knew so well come towards the house. He heard a loud thud as Lancelot's heavy boot thudded on the wooden floor of the small house. Now was his chance, as about half of Lancelot's body walked through the doorway Shirou quickly jumped up and leaped through the window.

"Clever, boy." Lancelot reacted quickly but Shirou was already sprinting down the road. Lancelot watched him turn a corner. He turned and saw the crowd following him. As he started to follow Shirou down the street he noticed something on the ground. He knelt down to examine it closer, the ground was very dirty but he could clearly make out the trail of blood leading down where Shirou just ran. "Perhaps I was too hard on him…" Lancelot mumbled to himself and began to leisurely follow the trail at a walking pace.

A few streets over Shirou was leaning against a shop on the side of the street. He looked in the direction where he'd ran from and saw the trail of blood that would no doubt lead Lancelot right to him. "Shit…" If he didn't take care of his hands things could get very bad. He was already starting to feel a little lightheaded from the blood loss. Shirou took off his shirt and began to tear it apart with his teeth, being careful to tear it into long strips. Thankfully the cloth was pretty light so it was easy enough for him to tear into. A couple of village girls gasped and ran away when they saw him wrapping the strips of cloth around his hands and wrists. He wrapped them as tight as he could until he stopped the bleeding as best he could.

Shirou slid to the ground and sat against the edge of the shop to catch his breath again. Why did Lancelot hit him so hard? If his swords didn't break Shirou could have probably blocked that attack. What was with that strength though? Every time he's been hit with that sword it felt like he was being swung at with a sledgehammer, it was almost inhuman.

"Wait, that can't be it can it?" It was a long shot, but if Shirou was correct it might explain a few things. Like why Lancelot was so strong and fast. It wasn't as if Excalibur was the only legendary blade in history right? There were plenty of weapons that were rumored to have special properties.

"It's worth a shot… Trace, On!" Shirou imagined Lancelot's sword in his head. That black demonic sword that Lancelot always kept with him. He imagined the markings etched on the blade, the black chain wrapped around the guard. As he imagined the blade he started to feel something from it, it was as if the sword itself emanated with pain and suffering and two words managed to make their way into Shirou's head.

_Arondight._

_Dragonslayer._

Shirou had a strong feeling Arondight was the sword's name. The other word, Dragonslayer, was most likely a property the sword had. Shirou figured the sword must have an affinity to dragons in that it was deadly to them. Shirou himself didn't know anything about dragons and he was more concerned with the sword's name than the Dragonslayer aspect of it, though it was important to forging the sword.

Shirou closed his fingers around the leather bound grip. A surge of energy seemed to flow from the handle, up his fingers and through his entire body. Shirou's muscles rippled with energy, the pain in his arms was manageable, and he felt new strength in his arms and legs. He stood up and lifted Arondight, finding it was surprisingly light, even lighter than Merlin's sword. Or so he felt.

"Wow… that feels good." The strength flowing into his arms and body made Shirou feel like he could cut a house in half and run like a cheetah. He gave the sword a swing through the air, it felt like a perfect extension of his arm.

"Are you certain you should not just surrender?" A voice was heard a little down the street from where Shirou was standing. He looked and saw Sir Lancelot walking slowly towards him with his sword held at his side.

Maybe he was being influenced by Arondight, but Shirou started to feel pretty confident. His new found strength should be able to put up a very good fight against the Knight. "I feel pretty good right now, there's no way I'm quitting." Shirou pointed his sword at Lancelot.

Lancelot stopped for a moment and glanced at Shirou's sword. "I do not think fighting with injured hands will do any good, even if you have copied my sword with your magic." Lancelot's voice went low like he was growling, he probably wasn't too happy to see his sword in the hands of this boy in front of him.

"We'll just have to find out, won't we?" Shirou grinned and tightened his grip around Arondight.

Lancelot heaved a deep sigh that echoed in his armor. "Your new confidence surprises me. You seem to want to use my sword very badly. Very well, let me see how you handle it." The Knight gripped his sword in both hands, and started to charge.

Lina hadn't seen Shirou get thrown into the house. She'd entered the crowd late and due to being rather short had trouble seeing over taller people. She'd heard the fighting and a crash, but it was difficult to tell what happened because of the cheering of the crowd. Lina was able to get a glimpse of Sir Lancelot walking off following what looked like a trail of blood on the ground.

"Shirou is injured!" Lina gasped to herself. Was Sir Lancelot trying to kill him? It didn't seem that way at first but it was possible things got out of hand and he was injured. What's more it looked like it was quite a lot of blood Shirou was probably hurting and having a tough time. Thankfully, the bakery was close by if she went and got Elise then maybe they could convince Lancelot to stop the fighting. Off in the distance Lina heard the sound of swords clashing together meaning Shirou and Lancelot had started fighting again.

"Excuse me! Please move aside!" Lina yelled as she pushed her way through the crowd and began to make her way towards the bakery. She most likely had only a few minutes to stop the fight before someone was really hurt. Running as fast as she could she thought that Shirou was in great danger. After all no one was able to match Sir Lancelot's skill with the sword save for perhaps the King himself.

"Elise!" Lina called as she burst through the doorway of the bakery. She was nearly out of breath as she'd sprinted to Geoff's shop.

"Lina? That you?" Geoff poked his head out of the back room. The large man trotting towards Lina when he saw that it was her. "Ye look terrible. Has something happened?" Geoff asked urgently.

"Where is Elise?" Lina asked impatiently.

Meanwhile a few streets away Shirou and Sir Lancelot were crossing swords once again. Sparks flashed through the air as their swords clashed. Shirou was finding that the new found strength from Arondight was giving him an easier time fighting Lancelot. Lancelot seemed to be moving slower than usual, but it wasn't that he'd gotten slower at all. Shirou had gotten faster. The crowd around the two of them grew, but Shirou didn't even know they were there. His attention was completely focused on Lancelot and following his movements. Shirou's hands gripped his sword tighter, causing blood to drip from the wounds in his hands through the cloth that used to be his tunic.

Their feet shuffled in the dirt as they fought, their swords clashed loudly against each other. Lancelot aimed a horizontal strike at Shirou's torso. Shirou parried the strike wielding his Arondight in both hands. He swung it upward causing Lancelot to have to step backward for fear of being knocked off balance. Lancelot then stepped inward again for another strike, Shirou was able to sidestep it without a problem and aim a counter attack at Lancelot's shoulder.

Lancelot was not having any problems fending off the boy, however he was amazed at how strong the boy had become just by copying his sword. He wasn't aware of any of the finer details of Shirou's magic except for the fact that he was able to create swords, but he was finding himself becoming serious. Lancelot knew full well of Arondight's abilities and wondered if the boy was able to copy them as well as the sword itself. Thankfully, the young man did not have his skill or experience. The sword also seemed to be somehow affecting his emotions making him rash and overconfident. Lancelot saw the blood dripping from the boy's hands from his previous injury even though he'd tried to mend them himself.

Shirou was completely unaware of the pain in his hands due to the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He came at Lancelot again and again, each time putting all his strength into every strike. Unfortunately the Knight was able to repel Shirou as if he could read his every move.

"With those injuries, you will not be able to fight much longer. You will eventually lose all your strength and be defeated." Lancelot spoke plainly as he parried one of Shirou's overhead swings and counterattacked, causing Shirou to have to back away.

"That's not going to happen, I can keep going!" Shirou growled. He held Arondight with his right hand while he let go with his left. "Trace, On!" He traced Merlin's jeweled sword in his left hand and closed his bloody fist around it. With a blade in each hand he charged towards Lancelot.

The two of them began to cross swords more aggressively than ever. They were now even in strength but Shirou was still finding it difficult to land a blow on the Knight. Lancelot was trying to wear the boy out. Little did Shirou know he'd already passed the test. The hour time limit was spent five minutes ago. Unfortunately for Shirou, although he was in no pain, his hands were starting to lose their grip on the swords and he had to clench them tighter each time he swung. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Lancelot was right. He wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.

""Shirou!"" As the adrenaline in his body was starting to wear off he heard two familiar female voices.

Lancelot took this opportunity while he was distracted and swept Shirou's feet out from under him. Shirou fell to the ground on his back and into the dirt. It happened in an instant and Shirou hadn't been expecting a move like that. When he'd landed Lancelot quickly flicked the point of his sword to Shirou's throat.

"You are beaten. Though I will admit you surprised me today." Lancelot removed his helmet with his free hand, his face was covered in sweat.

"I can still go on." Shirou lifted Arondight and pointed it towards Lancelot, though he found that it was taking most of his strength just to hold up the sword now.

Shirou heard footsteps behind him. Lina and Elise had appeared, pushing their way through the crowd and trotting quickly to Shirou's side.

"Ugh, shit." Shirou moaned and his arm dropped to the ground where both of his swords faded from existence. He admitted defeat when he let his arm down. "What are you two doing here?" He turned to both Lina and Elise as he rested on the ground.

"Sir Knight, I would request that you put your sword away. It is clear that he is in no condition to fight any longer." Elise said humbly to Sir Lancelot.

Lancelot nodded. "As you wish. We were just finishing anyway." The Knight sheathed his sword with a metallic scraping sound.

"What in the world happened to your hands?" Lina gently lifted Shirou's hands in her own and began to remove what was left of the bloody makeshift bandages, revealing Shirou's shredded flesh.

Shirou winced painfully, his sense of pain and fatigue had caught back up with him. "Something must have gone wrong with my projection." He said as he remembered that Lancelot had broken swords that should not be able to break.

Lancelot stepped forward and knelt down next to Shirou and the girls. "Why did you go so far? You could have saved yourself a lot of pain if you had just surrendered." The Knight asked curiously.

"Yes, please tell us why you were being so reckless." Elise tapped her foot and put her hands on her hips.

"I don't like to lose." Shirou said simply and stood up with the help of the girls who each had one of his arms. After the two of them realized that Shirou did not have a shirt on and that they were holding his arms, they both looked at each other, blushed furiously and then let go.

Lancelot turned to the two blushing girls at Shirou's side. "Please make sure the boy's wounds are attended to. He has an audience with the King today."

"I do?" Shirou tilted his head curiously.

The Knight nodded. "Yes. I would escort you to the castle right away, but it seems as though you will be well taken care of without my help."

"You can count on us Sir Knight!" Lina said enthusiastically.

After that they watched as Sir Lancelot walked off, the crowd moved aside for him and then began to dissipate. Still gossiping about what they had just seen.

"Those look dreadful. Let us go back and see my father. He knows a bit about treating wounds." Elise suggested.

Shirou nodded. "Sorry for causing you two so much trouble."

"Hmph, I would not go through the trouble if I did not think you were worth it." Elise tossed her hair and began to lead Shirou back to the bakery.

"Um, Elise… do you not think those words are a bit harsh?" Lina held her hands behind her back as she walked, keeping a close eye on Shirou to make sure he was doing all right.

"No, not at all." Elise puffed her chest out and walked a bit ahead.

"Do not worry too much, I believe that is her way of showing you affection." Lina whispered to Shirou.

"A-Affection?" Shirou whispered back in surprise.

Elise stopped dead in her tracks and spun around to glare at Shirou, her cheeks flushed slightly. "Listen. I merely helped Lina out because she was worried sick about you. It is not as if I hold affection for you or anything. Besides, I have my doubts about Sir Lancelot actually killing you. I knew you would be taken care of eventually anyway."

"O-Okay." Shirou stuttered a little, puzzled by Elise's reaction.

Elise stomped forward and leaned her face in close to Shirou's, too close for comfort for Shirou at least. "Listen, I was not worried about you at all. But iff something happened to you, Lina would cry. That's all that concerns me. Got it?"

"Y-Yeah…" Shirou avoided looking at her. Up close, Elise really was very cute.

"Good, hmph." Elise spun around and they continued to walk towards the bakery. Shirou looked over at Lina who merely smiled brightly at him.


	18. Confession

ACT XXII – Confession

After parting ways with Sir Lancelot, Shirou was led to the bakery by Lina and Elise. Now that the day in the village was getting back into swing from the mornings activities the adrenaline from Shirou's previous activities had worn off. He'd found that he hadn't realized how bad his injuries looked which explains why the girls were so worried about him.

"You should have been more careful. If you had kept fighting you could have been really hurt." Lina looked worried. Her shyness from earlier seemed to have worn off and she was now tightly holding onto Shirou's arm, despite him still not wearing a shirt.

"Please do not make a habit of causing us trouble like this Shirou." Elise said with her arms crossed, yet behind her facade Shirou could still tell she was worried.

"Right, sorry. I guess I did get a little carried away." Shirou scratched his head.

The three of them approached the bakery and once through the threshold Shirou could feel the heat from the furnaces and the smell of bread wafted into his nose. From the back room Shirou could see a faint red glow coming from one of the ovens. Geoff was not in the front so it was natural to assume that he was probably in the back still working.

"Father! Lina and I are here with Shirou!" Elise called loudly, cupping her hands over her mouth.

Geoff's large furry face poked itself around the corner from the back room with it's usual grin. Upon seeing Shirou though, his face dropped. He didn't look pleased at seeing his daughter and her friend holding onto a shirtless man.

"Ye look awful boy. Where's yer shirt?" Geoff asked in a low, prying voice.

Shirou chuckled nervously and held up his hands that were covered in the bloody tatters of cloth that used to be his shirt.

Geoff heaved a sigh. "Git yer arse in here an sit down." He then turned to his daughter. "Go an git me some bandages, water, an a bottle o whiskey."

Elise trotted off outside to retrieve whatever Geoff asked while Shirou and Lina sat down at the small table in the back of the shop across from the door.

"Now. Tell me how all this 'appened." Geoff sat down with a gruff look.

Shirou and Lina took turns explaining the situation to Geoff who listened intently. Occasionally he made a sour face every so often. After the explanations were finished Geoff asked Shirou to hold out his hands so he could remove the poor bandages.

"Yer a damn fool boy." Geoff heaved another sigh and soon Elise came back carrying a bowl of water and some other things.

"Here. Take a good swig o this." Geoff thrust the glass bottle filled with alcohol between Shirou's lips.

"Hey hey, I can still hold things fine you know." Shirou grumbled and took the bottle in his hands and tilted his head back. The liquid rushed down his throat creating a sort of heat when it hit his stomach. It was pretty strong and Shirou had never had much alcohol before so he couldn't drink very much before he was coughing, the contents of his stomach threatening to come up.

Geoff snatched the bottle out of Shirou's hands before slamming it on the table, ignoring his coughing fit. "Bloody baby." He mumbled and started to clean off Shirou's hands with a wet cloth, out of the corner of his eye he watched Lina pat Shirou's back.

"He is going to be all right isn't he?" Lina asked concerned.

"Oh aye, he'll be fine. It's really not as bad as it looks. I'll close up the wounds an he'll be right as rain." Geoff reported back assuredly.

"You sure seem to know a lot about this." Shirou commented as he watched Geoff go about his work. He winced slightly as Geoff put the needle and thread through his skin to tie him up. Must have been what the alcohol was for, to numb his pain.

"Aye well I had ta learn if I was goin ta care of a certain troublesome child. Right Elise?" Geoff grinned widely and turned his head towards Elise who was sitting quietly at the table and watching with Lina.

"I like to think I have matured a little…" Elise blushed and puffed out her cheeks.

"Well ya don' cry anymore when ye scrape yer knees." Geoff laughed loudly.

"Is that really all that's changed?" Shirou cast a glance at Elise out of the corner of his eye, trying to avoid the sight of Geoff finishing up his wounds. He was interested in what Elise was like when she was younger, who better to find that out from than her father?

"Aye that's about right. 'Asn't changed much. Save for in a few places." Geoff said with a grin.

"Father!" Elise exclaimed with embarrassment.

Geoff closed up the last of the wounds on Shirou's arm and tied some cloth bandages around his hands. "That'll do ye." He said as he rubbed his hands together.

"Thanks a lot Geoff." Shirou raised his arms and flexed his fingers, making a fist a couple of times. "You er… got a shirt I could borrow?" Shirou asked.

"Gahahahaha! I don' think ye could fit into my shirts laddie." Geoff laughed. Well Shirou was probably crazy for asking. Geoff was about twice his size.

Shirou shrugged. "Figured I should ask. Guess I'll have to go home for that." Shirou stood up and thanked Geoff and the girls again.

"Come by again when yer not all torn up." Geoff waved him off with a grin.

"See you later Shirou!" Lina waved energetically.

"Try not to get yourself hurt." Elise turned away back in her chair.

"Sorry for causing you guys so much trouble." Shirou waved and made his way out of the bakery. The King wanted to see him. He figured he should go home, get a new shirt and head straight to the castle. Keeping Arturia waiting wasn't exactly a habit he wanted to get into.

Shirou left the bakery and started back towards his house. There was a cool breeze outside and it made Shirou shiver. He got a few strange looks from a couple of people seeing as he was walking outside without a shirt. In retrospect it might not have been the best idea to tear it up, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. After a few minutes Shirou made it home, fed his horse, and threw on a fresh shirt before going immediately back outside.

As he walked passed Hikari he heard a snorting noise. Shirou turned around to see the horse looking at him expectantly.

"Alright, alright. I guess I can take you with me. It's not much of a walk but I'll take you out on a run later." Shirou said and turned around to grab Hikari's reins and saddle. It had been a couple days since he'd ridden his companion so he was probably feeling cooped up, tied to that post in front of his house.

After hopping on Hikari, Shirou urged him on a leisurely trot towards Camelot on the top of the hill. He wondered what Arturia wanted to talk to him about, perhaps he was sending him out on another mission or something. With his hands as they are, Shirou figured he should probably try to avoid fighting. Come to think of it, Lancelot never did tell him if he passed the test or not. He just sort of walked off as he usually did. What exactly was the knight's opinion of him anyway? He was so mysterious Shirou knew next to nothing about him, the same could be said for Sir Bedivere as well.

Thankfully at least Bedivere treated Shirou rather well. He seemed to brighten up whenever he ran into Shirou and he had the same sort of air about him that Arturia did. Perhaps that's why Bedivere worries so much about her. Shirou would like to get to know the knights a little better, but he hadn't had time for much of anything lately and running into a knight on down time was next to impossible. Even if he did ask there was no way to know if they would actually tell Shirou their life story. He figured he should at least try, considering he was now stuck here and probably never going to see Fuyuki again.

Those words stuck in his throat. It felt like he had a lump the size of a baseball in his throat whenever he thought about home, about the people that were left behind. Maybe this is what being homesick felt like.

Before long Shirou realized that he'd passed through the castle gates and he now found himself in the courtyard. He rode his horse towards the stables and tied him up to the post outside. As he entered the castle he ran into Cardigan, the captain of the guard.

"There you are. The King is waiting for you." Cardigan as always, looked gruff and angry. There were bags under his eyes as if he hadn't been getting enough sleep.

"Yeah, I know. I'm here." Shirou replied absentmindedly. "Why are you here anyway? I don't usually see you around." Shirou asked curiously. Cardigan was usually found in the barracks or the armory keeping his men in line. It was rare to actually see him in the main halls near the throne room.

"It just so happens that this matter concerns me as well so I will be going with you. Now come." Cardigan replied in his usual commanding voice. Shirou was beginning to suspect he rather enjoyed telling people what to do.

Shirou followed Cardigan through the hallways and passed the soldiers standing guard just outside the throne room. Pushing open the gigantic double doors the two of them once again found themselves before the King who sat on her throne with her usual serious expression she always wore. It was an expression Shirou had grown to hate. Sir Bedivere stood by her side as usual.

Arturia looked up as Shirou entered the room, her eyes fixed themselves on the bandages around Shirou's hands and wrists and her expression went sour.

"Shirou, are you injured?" Arturia asked after Cardigan and Shirou knelt in front of the throne.

Shirou shook his head. "It's nothing to be worried about."

Arturia raised an eyebrow but decided to back off of the subject. "Very well. I have another quest I would like for you to undertake, that is the reason I have called you here today." Arturia continued.

"As our Captain of the Guard informed you, our latest weapon shipments were… less than satisfactory. Sir Bedivere has also brought this issue to my attention." Arturia narrowed her eyes. "I suspect something has happened to our supplier, his shop is to the north along the Thames. This kind of incident has never happened before so I would ask you and Sir Bedivere to journey to that village on the river and investigate this matter."

"So… one man makes all the weapons in the armory?" Shirou scratched his head. It wasn't that he doubted the King's words, it just didn't seem likely that one man would be able to supply a castle's armory all by himself.

"Of course not. Our weapon shipments come from all over the kingdom." Arturia replied.

"Wait a minute, so if the entire shipment the guard received was crappy then that means…" Shirou thought for a moment.

Arturia nodded. "Yes, it seems you realize it. I fear someone is trying to cut supplies to the castle, first there was the farm village, and now our weapons are in jeopardy. I am sure you can tell the seriousness of the matter without having to explain further."

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, I get it." Morgana's goons were sabotaging the supply lines to the castle, and now that Shirou recalled what he caught Mordred talking to that small band of soldiers about it was clear that they were going to make trouble for Camelot.

"Your Majesty, is there anything I can do to assist you in this matter?" Cardigan finally spoke up after remaining silent and letting the king speak.

"I need you exactly where you are Captain." Arturia replied sternly.

Cardigan nodded. "As you wish." Beside him, Shirou could hear the Captain gritting his teeth.

"It will take you two days to reach the village on the river. I must ask that you make all haste and return to me with a report." Arturia said in a commanding voice.

"As you wish." Sir Bedivere bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty I-" Shirou began, but Arturia raised her hand to stop him.

"By the time you return, I will have gathered the Knights at the Round Table. Until then you must keep your mind focused on the task at hand." Arturia ordered.

"Do you not require my presence at the Table my King?" Bedivere asked curiously. Her expression unchanged, though it was rare to hear him actually ask a question.

Arturia nodded. "Yes, I expect both you and Shirou to join us as soon as you return."

"What? M-Me too?" Shirou stuttered with surprise. What possible business could he have with the other Knights of the Round Table?

Shirou's protest went largely ignored as Sir Bedivere stepped forward from Arturia's side and knelt in front of her. "Then if you will excuse us. We will be leaving immediately." After speaking he turned his head backwards towards Shirou, looking at him expectantly.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "Alright, let's go then. I'll have to stop by home and pack a few things."

Bedivere nodded and stood up. "I have preparations as well. I will be at your door in one hour, please be ready by then." After that, the Knight turned into one of the side hallways and left Shirou's sight.

Shirou turned to Cardigan who was also preparing to leave. "Well, that's one way to get your problem solved."

"I am not too pleased with how things turned out… I was hoping that the problem would not be so serious as to require a knight to investigate." Cardigan scratched his chin in thought. He then quickly turned to Shirou. "Why are you still here boy? Do you not have things you should be doing other than bothering me?" The Captain barked, seemingly back to his old self.

_Later…_

After quickly riding back home, Shirou soon completed the very easy task of packing for the journey. It was easy for the simple fact that he didn't own very much. A change of clothes and a few leftover rolls were about all he could manage. The thoughts of the Round Table hung heavily on Shirou's mind. The King for some odd reason, wanted him to meet the rest of the knights. Or at least that's what he assumed the plan was. He was so lost in thought, that he didn't even hear the knock on his door.

"Shirou? Are you home?" A feminine voice called from outside.

Snapped back to reality, Shirou opened the door to find Lina standing there. "Hey, Lina." He greeted her casually. He was a little surprised to see her, he hadn't expected her to drop by. Shirou assumed she would spend most of the day with Elise, usually when he ran into the girls it was just in passing or the few occasions where Shirou went to them for company.

"Um… may I come in?" Lina asked a bit nervously as she twirled a lock of her hair in her fingers.

"Sure, er… I'm going to have to leave in a bit though." Shirou stood aside and ushered Lina inside. When she passed by Shirou caught the faint whiff of the bread shop as well as the smell of earth. The smell of dirt and earth was everywhere, due to the unfortunate lack of soap. However the smell of it on Lina was slightly less noticeable than it was on everything else. Shirou gathered that out of the two girls, Lina took the most care of herself. Elise always smelled of sweat and strong earth, as if she'd been out playing in it all day.

Lina entered the house and looked around, stopping when she saw the small bag on Shirou's bed lying next to his sword. "Are you going off on another journey?" She asked curiously.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, it seems like this one is pretty important so I'm off with Sir Bedivere again." He walked passed Lina and pulled the two chairs out from the table. He sat down in one and motioned for Lina to sit down in the other one.

"W-Will you be gone long?" Lina asked, stuttering slightly much to Shirou's confusion. She seemed to be playing with her hair an awful lot.

"Well, from what I was told it'll be a two day ride there. Depending out how many days we spend there, maybe five at the least." Shirou grabbed a roll and took a large bite as he thought about it.

"Will you be all right with your injury? I do not think it is wise to travel with your hands as they are." Lina said with a worried expression.

"No need to worry, I'll be fine." Shirou smiled reassuringly.

Lina heaved a sigh. "I wish I could believe you."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Shirou leaned forward in his seat and frowned. "What did you come by for anyway?"

"I have a gift for you…" Lina said in a voice that sounded like she was barely able to get the words out.

Shirou sighed. He secretly wished people would stop giving them things. He felt more and more in debt to Merlin and everyone else for giving him what he had. However he couldn't very well refuse it either. "What is it?"

Lina slowly and silently held out her hands. In them was a lock of something golden held together by a piece of red thread. It was a lock of her hair. Shirou remember hearing somewhere that women of this day and age used to give locks of their hair to soldiers as they went off to war. It was a very simple, yet meaningful gesture. It probably took a lot of courage just for Lina to make this for him. Her hands trembled, she appeared apprehensive at first. Her eyes were also averted, too embarrassed to even look at Shirou.

Shirou gulped and stretched out his hand to grab the gift from Lina. Did this mean that Lina had feelings for him? Was this sort of thing like being confessed to? Shirou's heart was pounding in his chest and a huge lump formed in his throat.

"P-Promise me that you will return safely." Shaking, Lina turned her gaze towards the floor, her hair hiding her expression.

Shirou nodded after a minute or so of staring. "Y-Yeah… I'll come back."

Apparently unable to stand it any longer, Lina turned around and bolted out of Shirou's house. Her footsteps could be running down the street for a few seconds.

"Shirou Emiya, what exactly did you do to that young woman?" A strong voice was heard outside and stomping inside wearing a glare that could kill a bear was Sir Bedivere.

Shirou meanwhile was still in a bit of a daze. "I didn't do anything." He mumbled absentmindedly while staring at the lock of hair still sitting in the open palm of his head.

"Are you all right? If you are not well, I can go ahead on my own." Bedivere's voice softened upon seeing Shirou's condition and he stepped forward for a better look. Upon seeing what Shirou was holding he heaved a sigh. "So that is all it was? I thought you told me you were not courting any women." Bedivere put his hands on his hips, his head upturned as if he was angry in some way. It almost looked like the way Elise looked at Shirou.

Shirou snapped back to reality when he realized there was a knight in his house. "I'm really not, this just kind of… happened." He scratched the back of his head.

"Are your preparations for our journey completed?" Bedivere asked, looking about the house.

Shirou walked towards his bed and fixed his sword around his waist and picked up the small bag. "They are now." He replied, slinging the bag over his shoulder.

"Very well, then let us depart." Bedivere turned and went out Shirou's door, his cape fluttering behind him.

Shirou stood there for a minute and scratched the back of his head. "Man… what a hell of a day this turned out to be."


	19. Bedivere's Secret

ACT XIX – Bedivere's Secret

Shirou looked behind him towards Camelot and all he saw was the rolling green English countryside. It had been about six hours since he'd started riding with Sir Bedivere north along the Thames river. It had been pretty silent so far and the two of them hadn't done much talking. Quite honestly, Shirou was beginning to get bored. Sir Bedivere rode a bit ahead of Shirou. It was evening now, and the sun was beginning to made it's descent below the horizon. That probably meant Bedivere was starting to look for a place to set up camp for the night. He hadn't noticed it before, but he seemed to be shifting uncomfortably in his saddle.

"Hey, you okay up there?" Shirou asked curious. He couldn't recall Bedivere ever acting so restless before, at least that's what Shirou thought it was. He rode his horse up towards Bedivere and slowed to match his pace once they were side by side.

Bedivere nodded. "I am fine. My legs are starting to get a little sore, we should take a break soon."

Shirou heaved a sigh. "I know what you mean. I don't think I've ever even sat this long, let alone ridden a horse. Feels like my legs are just going to melt off."

Bedivere turned his head to face Shirou. "May I ask you a question?" He asked in a serious sounding voice.

"Yeah, go ahead." Shirou replied with a yawn. He was hoping to make camp soon, he really needed to stretch his legs.

"What do you plan to do about that girl?" Bedivere asked as he continued to shift uncomfortably in his saddle, shifting his hips from side to side.

Shirou scratched the back of his head as he pondered the question. He'd suspected that Lina liked him for awhile now, but at that time he wasn't ready to have any kind of relationship. Especially not here. Perhaps there was a part of him that was still attached to Fuyuki. Until he could let that part of him die, he wasn't sure that he could answer Lina's feelings. As he was right now, he still had hope that he would somehow be able to go back home. If there was any chance of that, he didn't want to get into a romantic relationship. However it wasn't like he didn't like Lina…

"Shirou?" After several minutes, Bedivere called his name. Shirou's expression had drooped and had gone silent.

"I guess I'm still thinking about it…" Shirou replied with a sigh. Off in the distance Shirou could see a fair amount of boulders sticking out of the ground. They were quite large and they were in a cluster around each other, now that Shirou realized it that is where they were heading. Bedivere must have planned to set up camp there for the night. They did look suspiciously out of place on the grassy countryside, however they could be very old ruins sticking up through the earth.

"I see…" Bedivere looked like he had more to say, but the two of them went silent as they approached the boulders, since that is what they turned out to be. There were at least five of them scattered about in a semicircular pattern. A flat space of grass was in between each boulder with a large patch in the middle. Bedivere eased his horse to a halt and hopped off the saddle.

"Ahh, that feels so good." Shirou sighed as his feet hit the ground. Thankfully Shirou didn't have a lot of unpacking to do since he only had a change of clothes and some bread in his bag. Shirou plopped down on the grass and looked up at the sky. It would be dark in a few minutes and Shirou was already tired.

"I keep forgetting that you are not as used to riding on a horse as everyone else is." Bedivere mentioned casually as he fumbled with a few things in his bag which was pretty large compared to Shirou's.

"You guys have been doing this sort of things your whole lives. I'd never even seen a horse in person until I came here." Shirou stretched his arms over his head. Surprisingly, it felt really good to be laying down on the cool green grass.

"Even my legs get a bit sore after riding for so long. I am still human you know." Bedivere replied. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I got some bread in my pack though so you don't have to worry about me." Shirou sat up and prepared to get to his feet.

"Please stay there and rest. Here, use this and make us a campfire. I have a few things to attend to." Out of his pack, Bedivere brought over some kindling in the form of small sticks and a couple of rocks Shirou assumed were flint.

"You keep sticks in your bag?" Shirou asked curiously.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, there are not a lot of trees in this area of the kingdom. It will get cold at night without a fire so I made sure we would have one. It is also fortunate these rocks are here, they will protect us from the wind." Bedivere walked off and drew a small knife from behind his back.

Shirou didn't even know Bedivere owned a dagger like that. It wasn't anything fancy, it looked simple like something anyone would carry. Shirou did as he was told, picking a suitable spot and gathering a few smaller rocks he found about the size of his fist to create a somewhat decent fire pit and began to grind the two stones together. It wasn't long before sparks flew from the rocks and into the thin sticks that would no doubt burn easily. A few minutes had passed and the flame started to flicker slightly. It wasn't very big, but it was just enough to provide warmth and a minimal amount of light. Shirou also noticed that Bedivere hadn't returned yet.

Shirou hopped to his feet which felt a bit wobbly and then made his way over to the direction he thought he saw Bedivere wander off to. A little bit off he caught Hikari bending his neck down and eating some grass so Shirou jogged over and grabbed a roll from his pack. At this point, he was really starting to miss hot food. He hadn't had a hot meal since he got here. After turning around and scanning the area he saw Sir Bedivere knelt down and doing something with the ground.

Shirou walked over casually, to see what he was doing. As he approached, Bedivere didn't even acknowledge his presence as he seemed to be cutting into the earth with his knife. Upon closer examination he saw that Bedivere was carving familiar runes into the ground. Merlin had taught him about certain runes and he could tell that these are used to make a barrier of some kind. It looked like he was carving them in a circle around their camp.

"If you were going to do something like this, I would have helped you." Shirou said, trying to look mock offended.

Bedivere looked up after finishing carving the current rune he was working on. "It is not because I did not think you could. You are Merlin's apprentice after all. I simply left you to rest your legs."

"I didn't know you could make barriers." Shirou commented. The kind of barrier Bedivere was carving was a stationary barrier that would shield everything inside it from sight. If someone where to look at their camp, they would simply see it as if there was no one there. However it's a simple barrier so if the runes are tampered with they would be rendered useless.

"This kind of thing is about all I can manage. I do not have the desire to practice magic as you and Merlin do, but something like this is useful." Bedivere replied as he stood up, and sheathed the dagger behind his back.

After the barrier was finished, the two of them headed back to camp. By now the sky had completely darkened as the two of them sat around the fire. Shirou had laid back on the grass and looked up at the starry sky. It was a perfect cloudless night, however he couldn't see any stars he recognized. The night sky was as unfamiliar to him as the rest of the world he was now in.

"Earlier you mentioned that you had never seen a horse until you came into our Kingdom yes?" Bedivere asked suddenly over the crackle of the fire as he took a bite out of what looked like dried meat of some kind.

"Yeah that's right." Shirou replied, not even bothering to turn over to look at the knight. Despite how strange it felt to be sleeping like this, he couldn't help but feel a bit relaxed.

"How did your people travel long distances? You could not possibly walk." Bedivere asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"We have large machines like cars, trucks, and planes." Shirou then had to explain what each of them was. Bedivere went quiet as he listened intently.

"So these planes allow you to fly through the sky to cross oceans faster than any bird?" Bedivere's eyes went wide in amazement.

Shirou nodded. "The world is a big place. Lots of countries exist that you guys have no idea are even out there."

"The world you live in must be extraordinary…" Bedivere said as if he wished he could go and live there.

"Being here, I'm starting to realize all the things I took for granted every day. Like cooking with a stove… and soap." Shirou heaved a sigh.

"You are able to cook?" Bedivere asked, surprised.

"Yeah, pretty well actually." Shirou replied with a nod.

"I would love to try the food from your country." Bedivere said. Shirou couldn't see it, but his lips curled into a faint smile.

Shirou sighed. "I'd like to get back into cooking too. I should make an effort and see what kind of things I can get my hands on." He thought for a moment, it would be nice if he could cook for himself for a change. Actually eating hot food sounded really good, the next time he had some free time he should go to the market and see what they had. Come to think of it, his house still didn't feel like home. There was an old tradition saying that you should break in a new house by cooking a meal in it. At least it would get his mind off things for awhile.

"I am sure those girls would like to cook for you as well." Bedivere grinned.

Shirou chuckled and scratched the back of his head with a small blush. "They probably would."

Silence fell between them, the only sound on the grassland was the crackling of their campfire. After a few minutes Shirou heard Bedivere shuffling around and turned over to see him making his way towards Shirou's side of the fire.

"What are you doing?" Shirou asked, sitting up quickly.

"You did not bring anything to cover yourself. If I leave you be you could freeze to death. It gets very cold at night out here." Bedivere said casually as he continued to approach.

Shirou shrugged. "Don't have much of a choice." For some reason, Shirou felt really nervous as Bedivere approached and sat down next to him.

"That is the point. We can not leave the fire going all night, so I must take precautions." Bedivere replied.

"Precautions? You're talking about sleeping next to me right?" Shirou said nervously. Bedivere was really starting to make him feel uneasy.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes. Is that a problem? I am only doing so because I am concerned about you." He said as if he was offended somehow.

Shirou took a breath and thought about the situation. Well, he did have a point. Besides, they were both guys so it should be fine. Then why did he feel so uncomfortable? "No, I guess there's no problem." Shirou replied after a moment.

"Well then… good night." Bedivere kicked his foot and knocked some dirt onto the fire. Apparently he kicked up enough dirt to stifle the small fire almost instantly making Shirou's vision go almost completely black.

In the darkness Shirou heard Bedivere messing with his armor and the metallic thud of him tossing it off to the side. After it was off, Shirou heard him utter a sigh of what sounded like relief.

"You don't take your armor off much do you?" Shirou asked curiously.

Bedivere groaned as he stretched his arms over his head. Shirou noticed that it was a strangely feminine sound, much like when they were in the cave together. "Only when I bathe and sleep." Bedivere replied simply.

"Occupational hazard I guess…" Shirou mumbled. Although he had expected that Sir Bedivere was hiding something. As the stars twinkled overhead Shirou let himself drift off to sleep a few minutes later.

Shirou's eye's opened slowly to find the morning sun blazing down on him. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes he found that Bedivere was already armored and wide awake.

"Good morning Shirou." Bedivere said as he put his bag back on his horse.

Shirou stretched his arms over his head. "Morning. I take it you want to get an early start?"

Bedivere nodded. "Yes. Were you able to sleep well?"

Shirou hopped to his feet and dusted the dirt off of his pants. Thankful that he didn't have any anatomical issues. "Yeah, it was a little cold but I think I'll live."

"I told you that it would be did I not?" Bedivere said in an I-told-you-so kind of a way.

"Whatever. Let's get out of here." Thankfully Hikari hadn't strayed too far and once they left the boundary the barrier covered the horse trotted right over to him. "Shouldn't we dismantle the barrier?" Shirou asked as he mounted his horse.

"Not needed. With the next rain the runes I carved into the earth will be destroyed." Bedivere explained and hopped onto his horse as well.

"So I assume this little rest stop was about the half way point?" Shirou asked.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, we have another day until we reach our destination."

"Ah crap. I'm not going to be able to walk for a couple days after this… Maybe the girls will look after me." Shirou mumbled with a sigh.

_1 day and 6 hours later…_

The last leg of the journey had arrived. On the second day Sir Bedivere had become increasingly grouchy and irritable. His responses had become snappy, but he often apologized right after obviously not trying to be rude. Shirou asked numerous times what his problem with but Bedivere usually replied with, "It is none of your concern." All the while shifting uncomfortably in his saddle.

Soon the bend in the river was in sight. From what Shirou had heard from Sir Bedivere the village on the Thames had been plagued by bandits for awhile, it was mostly a fishing village but there was also one of the largest blacksmiths in the country that had people working there from just about everywhere. Probably why it was a perfect place to outsource weapons manufacturing to.

The village itself looked pretty beat up as they approached. It was surrounded by crudely constructed walls made out of wood, probably to attempt to keep the bandits out. Out front was a large wooden gate made from two huge double doors. There were two towers on either side of the door with a guard posted at the top of each one.

Bedivere and Shirou approached the door and stopped before the gate.

"State your names and business here!" The man on the right tower barked while the one on the left strung a bow.

"I am Sir Bedivere. We come on behalf of the King." Bedivere announced loudly as Shirou stay silent next to him.

"The King? Bah! Begone! We hold no loyalty to a King that can barely protect a simple village from raiders." The man shouted, obviously very agitated.

Bedivere looked over curiously at Shirou.

"I guess this is what Lancelot meant when he said things weren't going well." Shirou said with a sigh.

Bedivere glared up at the man in the tower. "Now see here! We are on important business and we must be allowed to enter the village! I order you on behalf of King Arthur!" Bedivere shouted back.

"You may spout that name all you like, you shall not enter! We have archers trained on the both of you, if you take one more step you will be killed where you stand! Now begone!" The man shouted again.

Shirou could hear the stretching of bowstrings and a quick glance along the wall he could see at least five archers lining up shots. "Uh… Bedivere… I think we should do what he says."

"Hmph. I suppose we have no choice. Follow me." Bedivere pulled the reins on his horse and urged it into a gallop, all the while grinding his teeth.

Following him on Hikari, he rode behind Bedivere. Last night was spent in a forest about a ten minute ride away. Presumably that's where Bedivere was leading them.

Once they reached the edge of the forest Bedivere dismounted and began to grumble to himself.

"What was all that about? You would think a knight would receive more of a warm welcome." Shirou said with a sigh.

"Silence! Let me think a moment." Bedivere barked angrily.

Shirou watched as Bedivere began to pace up and down with his teeth gritted and his eyes narrowed. It was quite different seeing the knight this way but Shirou could understand his frustration. Arturia sounded like this quest had the utmost importance, and not being able to complete it after traveling all this way would get anyone's feathers ruffled.

"If they will not let us in, then we shall enter of our own accord." Bedivere said after a moment.

"What? You mean sneak in?" Shirou hadn't expected this kind of cloak and dagger suggestion out of a knight, let alone someone as noble as Bedivere.

"Indeed, under cover of night of course. If we can locate the blacksmith unnoticed we can investigate it ourselves." Bedivere explained.

"That's all well and good, but what happens if we're spotted?"

"If that is the case we will simply fight our way out." Bedivere said simply.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "Well, it doesn't seem like we have a choice. There's no way we can go back without learning something. I really don't want to get shot again though…"

_Later that night…_

A couple of hours before nightfall Shirou and Bedivere had snuck as close to the village as they could get without being seen. Observing the village, they saw that guards were changed every few hours. Bedivere explained that this would be the perfect time to sneak into the village as the shifts would most likely change at nightfall.

"We're not going to kill them are we?" Shirou asked in concern.

"Not if I can help it." Bedivere said as he narrowed his eyes at the village.

Not much more than that was said as Bedivere kept telling Shirou to stay silent except when he asked something that the knight deemed as important. Shirou and Bedivere surveyed they entire perimeter of the walled village, finding that there were four towers, two at each entrance. The other entrance was near the bank of the river.

The sky that night was cloud covered. Which was rather fortunate considering what the two of them were about to do. As they sat and watched from a distance they could make out the tiny lights of the torches the patrolling guards carried as well as the ones carried by the archers in the towers.

Then, as if on cue, one flicker of light after another began to disappear.

"That is what we were waiting for. Let us make haste." Bedivere gripped the hilt of his sword and sped off, running so was kicking up grass in his wake.

Shirou did the same. Speeding towards the tall wooden wall of the village, after reaching it the two of them hugged the wall until they slipped through the gate where they were met with two guards facing the opposite direction.

Without even giving them time to react, Bedivere rushed forward and gave the guard on the left a sharp blow to the head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"Intruders!" The guard on the right shouted and grabbed the sword at his hip as he turned to Bedivere.

Shirou at that moment rushed forward and clenched his fist, punching the guard square in the face as hard as he could. Luckily he wasn't wearing a helmet so he was sent straight to the ground.

"You must be quicker. Stick close." Bedivere whispered.

The two of them made their way through the village, doing their best to keep to the shadows. They didn't have much time before the guard shifts would change and the guards they had just knocked out would be discovered. Shirou had to keep telling himself that he wasn't dreaming, sneaking through a village with a knight to find a blacksmith. It hardly seemed real. He had hope that all he had to do was follow Bedivere and everything would turn out all right.

"Bedivere, look." Shirou whispered and pointed up ahead. Off in the distance they could see a column of smoke rising up from a large rectangular looking building.

"That must be it. Let us make haste." Bedivere replied urgently. They would have to cross the street to get there. Which meant they could be spotted by anyone looking through their windows. Bedivere poked his head out and checked both sides of the street then silently motioned that they should move through.

As silently as they could they made their way across the street towards the blacksmith. What looked like a building was actually a roof, the smith itself was completely open to the air. The smith was silent at the moment, as it looked like all the workers had already retired for the night. Racks of weapons and armor lined a back wall, both finished and unfinished. On top of a large anvil sat a well used hammer.

The two of them slowed to a walk as they entered, being careful to check their backs. Being open to the air was unfortunate as it would make them very easy to be spotted. Shirou turned his head to Bedivere who merely nodded. Shirou took this to mean that he should start taking a look at the weapons. With nobody there, that was their only option. They would have interrogated the blacksmiths if they were there, but with them gone the first thing they should do was to check the quality of the weapons.

Shirou approached a rack of swords and took one. The weight felt right. As he swung it once through the air he found that it cut nicely. The blade looked like it was as it should be. Shirou put the sword back and examined it the same way, finding that it was much the same as the first.

"Sir Bedivere?" Shirou turned around to see Bedivere examining a breastplate. Running his fingers across it as if he could tell how good it was through osmosis.

"Everything here is as it should be…" The knight said through gritted teeth.

"What does that mean? This is the right place isn't it?" Shirou asked.

"It means they are keeping the proper weapons for themselves and sending the poorly made ones to Camelot. We are betrayed."

At that moment, loud echoing bell rings could be heard throughout the village. It was an alarm.

Without a second thought, Bedivere drew his sword and spun around. He was scowling. Shirou had never before seen this look on the knight's face before. A fire erupted from his eyes and his brow was furrowed. It was the look of a man who's country had been betrayed right before his very eyes. Bedivere gripped his sword tight and began to walk towards the street, his cape sweeping behind him.

"There he is! One of the intruders!" A shout came from down the street.

"Hey! We have to get out of here!" Shirou ran towards Bedivere and grabbed his shoulder. The alarm bell continued ringing and three soldiers wielding torches and swords made they way towards Bedivere.

Bedivere stood there glaring at the men as they approached, gripping sword so tight Shirou could hear the sound of his gauntlets scraping against the leather grip. After a moment or two the knight released a heavy sigh. "Yes, we must retreat." His facial expression softened and he seemingly returned to normal.

"They are escaping, get the archers ready!" One of the guards shouted as the three of them pursued Shirou and Bedivere as they ran towards the back exit where they came in.

"That… could be a problem." Bedivere said as he continued to run ahead of Shirou. The entire reason they snuck in this way was to avoid the guards and the archers. Their horses were left on a hill away from the village, so they would have a bit of a run before they would get clear of the village. Unfortunately this meant that the archers would get plenty of opportunities to fire at them as they were running to their horses.

Soon the gate was in sight, unfortunately it was blocked by four soldiers. Without fear, and without thinking Bedivere instantly charged in raising his sword above his head.

Following behind him Shirou drew his sword from his hip. "Take the right side!" Bedivere commanded as the soldiers moved in on them. One swung at Bedivere, who flicked his sword away and ran him through. The soldier let loose a bloodcurdling scream as his stomach was pierced. His companion ran forth to take advantage of the fact that Bedivere still had his sword lodged in the man's chest. Seeing this coming, Bedivere kicked the man off his sword and swung horizontally. The soldier charging him had his sword raised over his head, and had no chance to defend the blow, his stomach was cut open and he fell to the ground trying to hold his wound closed.

On Shirou's side both of the soldiers came at him at once. Taking a step back he dodged their blows. Their moves were slow and unrefined, completely the opposite of fighting Lancelot. Shirou stepped forward after the guards had swung and attacked himself, severing one of the guard's hands. His hand fell to the ground, clutching his sword. The man screamed in agony and instead of falling over like Shirou had planned, raised the torch in his hand and charged in again.

Shirou could feel the heat from the flame as the guard swung his torch at Shirou. Managing to side step it Shirou aimed a swift kick at the man that collided with the soldier's ribs, sending him crumpling to the ground. The second soldier aimed a stab at Shirou's throat, it was a quick stab and Shirou could barely dodged it and the tip of the blade nicked the side of his cheek. Shirou could feel the steel rip through his skin and felt a warm trickle of blood run down the side of his face.

Using this opportunity Shirou took his sword and rammed it through the man's stomach. The soldier crumpled over on Shirou's arm, coating it with his blood and groaned in agony. Shirou removed the sword where the man fell face first into the dirt on the ground.

Now that their enemies were defeated, Shirou and Bedivere ran through the gate. Upon leaving it Shirou felt something whiz passed his ear. It was the archers now starting to take their shots. The hill away from the village was maybe a quarter of a mile away, and it would give the archers on the walls plenty of time to line up their shots.

With a dry thud an arrow lodged itself into the earth right next to where Shirou was running. From the sound of it there were only two archers but they were firing at a pretty fast rate leading Shirou to believe that these guys had seen some action in the past.

Soon they started to climb the hill after three more arrows missed their mark. One of them grazed Shirou's shoulder, but it was little more than a scratch and only caused a minor bit of pain. Bedivere was slowing down, acting like he was tired.

Shirou caught up to him and found that he was panting as if he was out of breath. That was impossible, Shirou had seen the knight run further than this and fight more in the forest where he was captured. There was no way he could be tiring out before Shirou.

Shirou put a hand on his back to urge him forward only for Bedivere to shrug it off.

"Do not touch me! Just keep going!" He shouted angrily at Shirou.

"What the hell is your problem? I'm trying to help you!" Shirou shouted back, generally concerned for the knight's well being only got him yelled at and it was starting to piss him off. This kind of thing has been going on for the past couple days and the drastic change in Bedivere's personally just hit a nerve.

As Bedivere was about to formulate a response, Shirou heard another whiz of an arrow the sound of Bedivere in pain. "Argh!" The arrow went through Bedivere's thigh and stuck out the other end. Bedivere groaned and tripped, falling on the ground holding his leg.

"Shit, Bedivere!" Shirou ran forward and grabbed Bedivere's arm. Bedivere didn't pull away this time and let himself be hoisted up by Shirou for support. Holding onto Bedivere, Shirou managed to get to the top of the hill.

Letting go of Shirou, Bedivere managed to painfully hoist himself to his horse and speed off with Shirou following.

_At the forest camp…_

Making it back to where they camped the previous night wasn't easy. Bedivere led them on a strange route but soon they made it back to the fallen tree they had made their camp. The two of them slowed to a halt and Shirou got off of his horse.

Shirou heard a loud thud and turned his head to find that Bedivere was face down on the ground. "Bedivere!" Shirou ran to his side and heard him groan in pain. Good. That meant he was alive.

Shirou looked down at Bedivere's leg, thankfully it looked like the arrow went straight through the meat of Bedivere's thigh. That would heal easy enough in a couple of weeks.

"In my pack… ngh! There are bandages." Bedivere pointed at his horse.

Shirou nodded silently and quickly opened the knight's pack. Flint, skin of water… cotton? Shirou looked closer. As he took a closer look he found that there were a few lumps of cotton in the bottom of the bag. What could that possibly be for? Shirou grabbed the bandages and returned to Bedivere's side.

"I'm going to pull this out, it's going to hurt." Shirou lightly touched the arrow.

"Guh…" Much to Shirou's surprise, Bedivere leaned forward and threw his arms around Shirou's neck. Shirou wasn't concerned about it right now, as far as he knew it just his way of coping with the pain.

Shirou couldn't pull the arrow straight out as it was. The arrowhead would tear up the flesh on it's way out, as would the other end. So there was just one thing to do. Shirou gripped the head of the arrow, not caring as the tip dug into his flesh as he snapped it off with a loud crack. After that, Shirou hesitated.

"Do it!" Bedivere yelled in his ear.

With one quick motion Shirou gripped the arrow shaft tightly and pulled it straight out with a wet noise, as it left Bedivere's body blood began to pour out. Bedivere's fingers dug into Shirou's shoulders as he muffled his rather feminine cry of pain as the arrow was pulled out.

After that Shirou began to reach his arms out to take off Bedivere's armor.

Panicked, the knight pushed Shirou away and curled himself into a ball, blood running down his leg. "Do not touch me…"

"You idiot! I can't clean your wounds with all that armor on! Either you do it or I will! I'm trying to save your life dammit!" Shirou shouted at the knight who looked at Shirou, his eyes seemed like he was terrified of something.

Bedivere bit his lip for a moment then he nodded. As he started to remove his breastplate he stopped, wobbling a bit from side to side.

"Shit, hey. Hey! Stay with me!" Shirou crawled forward just as Bedivere fell over on the cold ground, unconscious but alive.

Afraid to move his body to a better location, Shirou began to remove Bedivere's armor himself. The breastplate came off rather easily as did his leggings. What Shirou saw before him then surprised him greatly.

Bedivere lay there, long hair splayed out all over the place, his eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. His body was thin, not a lot of muscle on it but what was most surprising was his chest. His tunic had the familiar slight protrusion of breasts beneath it. Well, it was possible that there was extra armor beneath it. What did he know about protection in these times? Paying it no mind, Shirou slipped down Bedivere's trousers and what he saw surprised him even more.

In addition to the arrow wound, small amounts of blood were dotting Bedivere's inner thighs from a certain place on his… her body. Bedivere's skin was burning hot as if she was on fire from inside. That was more the reason for her passing out than the wound in her leg.

Shirou now understood why Bedivere had been acting the way he… she had been. It explained the cotton in her pack, and many other things Shirou had been wondering about.

"You have got to be kidding me…"


	20. The Round Table

ACT XX – The Round Table

_Six hours after Bedivere's collapse…_

It was morning. Shirou had stayed awake all night keeping a close eye on Bedivere's fever, the events of the previous night still weighed heavy on his mind. Just how many women were pretending to be men? Was he going to show up at the Round Table and find that all the knights were women? He put those thoughts from his mind, something like that couldn't possibly be right.

He thought about getting up and readying the horses for departure. Bedivere probably shouldn't travel with that fever of hers, but the King was expecting them so there was little choice. Looking down at Bedivere, Shirou figured it was about time to change her bandage and check her fever. Yesterday, he wouldn't have given a second thought about touching Bedivere's forehead. Yet somehow he found himself hesitating as the tips of his fingers lightly brushed against her forehead.

At that very moment, Bedivere's eyes flung themselves open and looked at Shirou with a mixture of horror and anger. She let loose a gasp and in a single fluid motion kicked Shirou in the chest, sending him to his back also grabbing the dagger at her side and pounced on Shirou.

Before Shirou could act, Bedivere had straddled his waist, pinned him, and pressed the cold blade to his throat. Bedivere was breathing heavily and still delirious from having had a fever all night. She glared down at Shirou through gritted teeth, her long hair fell passed her shoulders and lightly brushed against Shirou's face.

"You…" Bedivere growled and pressed the blade harder against Shirou's throat, threatening to cut it. The look in her eyes was like a cornered animal. She was scared and didn't know what to make of the situation so at that moment she was acting on instinct.

The look terrified Shirou right down to his bones and he had to clench his fists to keep his hands from shaking. This was a bad situation, in her condition he wouldn't put it passed Bedivere to kill him right here. For a moment Shirou simply stared back at Bedivere, unable to move or say anything. Any words he tried to spit out just formed a lump in his throat.

Bedivere sat there for what seemed like an eternity, glaring down at Shirou. After awhile, Shirou could feel the knife in Bedivere's hand starting to shake. He felt the blade nick his skin and the now too familiar sensation of a small trickle of blood run down his neck.

Shirou gulped. "H-Hey… its me…" Managing to choke a few words out he couldn't do anything else but try and talk Bedivere down, however it was easier said than done.

Upon hearing Shirou's voice, Bedivere's teeth unclenched. Her face contorted itself as if she'd just been hit with a flood of emotions all at once and her grip on the knife in her hand loosened. The knife fell from her hand and hit the ground next to Shirou's head. Her eyes started to glass over and her shoulders drooped.

"What have I done?." She muttered softly. Bedivere appeared to have come to her senses.

Shirou heaved a sigh of relief, his heart still pounding in his chest. He wasn't quite sure how to handle this sort of situation. Shirou wasn't even sure she realized what she was doing. However in this situation, Shirou was starting to become conscious of her. She didn't weigh as much as he thought she would. Her body was surprisingly light, her skin was soft as a woman's should be, yet he could clearly feel her toned muscles under it.

Shirou thought about the way Bedivere appeared to him before compared to how she was acting now. She played the knight whenever he saw her, yet whenever they were together her true womanly side seemed to show itself. It was as if someone raised her to be something she isn't, and she still tried desperately to hold onto whatever femininity she had left. It was like he saw a mask fall off of her face right in front of him.

Bedivere continued to sit atop Shirou with a dizzy look in her eyes for another minute or two before she finally left. She kept her face hidden as she attempted to collect herself before lifting her body off of Shirou's chest. Her eyes were red and her face was even redder. Shirou couldn't even fathom the embarrassment Bedivere was feeling.

"I…" Bedivere started to say but stopped herself as if she couldn't find the words to match her feelings. She took a deep breath to collect herself further. "Please accept my deepest apologies." She said in a voice so small Shirou could barely hear her. She must be so embarrassed she can't even speak normally.

"It's alright. You weren't yourself." Shirou replied, giving her a reassuring nod.

Bedivere swung her leg off of Shirou and sat next to him, hanging her head in shame. "I swear on my honor that I will atone for what I have done."

Shirou sat up and looked over at Bedivere. If he told her to kill herself to make it up to him, she probably would. She was bound by her honor to do whatever it took. However as ashamed as she seemed, Shirou couldn't be angry with her.

"I said it's fine. I think you're being too hard on yourself."

Bedivere bowed deeply, putting her forehead to the ground, seemingly unsatisfied. "Please spare me your kindness. I have injured you, a person who merely tried to help me. I beg of you to let me atone for this."

Did she think the scratch on his neck was worse than it actually was? Either way, Bedivere was clearly serious. She wanted Shirou to punish her in some way.

Shirou heaved an exasperated sigh. "Bedivere, raise your head."

Slowly, Bedivere did as ordered.

After she was sitting completely upright, Shirou leaned forward and promptly flicked her forehead with his forefinger.

Bedivere's eyes squinted shut as if she was expecting to feel pain and her body tensed up. After a few moments her eyes fluttered open and she stared at Shirou in uncertainty.

"You dumbass. It's just a scratch, see?" Shirou lifted his chin and exposed his neck.

"B-But…" Bedivere started to complain but Shirou held his hand up to stop her.

"I forgive you, don't beat yourself up over something small okay? You didn't really hurt me so it's fine."

Bedivere sat silently for a few seconds before slowly nodding. "As you wish."

"Good, then we should probably get going." Shirou stood up and began to make his way over to the horses.

"Shirou… if I might make a selfish request."

Shirou turned around to face the knight. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Please try and forget my shameful acts this morning. I will do anything you ask but I beg you to keep this incident hidden." Bedivere bowed again, her voice pleading.

Shirou simply nodded. "Alright." Bedivere obviously has her reasons, perhaps the reason she broke down is because she was found out.

A few minutes later, Shirou and Bedivere packed up the camp and prepared for the long journey to the Round Table. As he was mounting his horse, he found that Bedivere was having some trouble mounting her's with her injured leg. It was only natural since the muscles in her thigh had been torn by the arrowhead.

"Hey, don't stress yourself." Shirou rode over by him and extended his hand down to her. It wasn't just helping her out. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask her as well and riding with him would make things easier. "Here."

Looking reluctant Bedivere nodded slowly and took Shirou's hand. Shirou hiked her body up and let her swing her leg over and position herself behind Shirou.

"Th-Thank you…" Bedivere said nervously.

"Will your horse be alright?" Shirou asked curiously.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, he will follow us on his own."

After Shirou confirmed that Bedivere's steed wouldn't run away on them, he ordered Hikari to start their journey back. The air that morning was cool but Bedivere gingerly holding onto him made it seem not so bad. He had so many questions to ask, about Bedivere and Arturia. They seemed to have a close relationship and it made Shirou wonder if it was because of their similar circumstances.

"Bedivere?"

"Shirou I-"

The two of them both spoke out at the same time and an awkward silence followed.

"Go ahead." Shirou consented.

"Why are you so kind?" Bedivere asked with a curious voice and Shirou could feel the faint warmth of her breath on his back.

"Huh?" Shirou tilted his head in confusion. He'd been doing what came naturally, what he thought anyone else would have done. He didn't really think he came off as any different than anyone else.

"You are much too kind and too easy to forgive. I have never seen anyone act in such a way." Bedivere continued.

Shirou scratched his head. "I always try to help people, it doesn't matter who they are."

"It seems you are trying to help everyone." Bedivere mumbled.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "Helping everyone is impossible… even I know that. I only try to help who I can." As much as he wanted to help everyone, even he knew it was impossible. He'd learned that only recently.

"You are a strange man…" Bedivere mumbled again.

"So why were you hiding the fact that you're a girl?" Shirou asked the question that had been itching at the back of his head.

"I owe the King my life. Becoming a knight is impossible for a woman so I had to keep my identity a secret." Bedivere replied vaguely.

"You're really close to her aren't you?"

Bedivere nodded. "I believe we were drawn together by fate. I will serve my King with all that I am." Shirou got the feeling there was more to the story but Bedivere wasn't about to reveal everything about her and Arturia's relationship.

"Fate huh…?" Shirou mumbled to himself. Was everything that happened up till now fated to happen? Was he here for a reason?

Those close to Arturia seemed to follow him with unrelenting devotion, yet why was it that every town that he'd been sent to investigate had turned against the King? He guessed that that was precisely why he was being sent out here.

Once again silence fell between the two of them as they rode together along the countryside. Two days ride back. It was going to be a long one. He realized that he'd be meeting the other knights when he got back to Camelot. He wondered what they were like or how many there were, he had no idea what to expect. At any rate he should at least show up if only to make sure Bedivere got there all right. The injury to her leg was pretty bad and she should avoid walking for awhile, as devoted to her duties as she was she'd probably walk around anyway.

"We should probably stop to change your bandages pretty soon." Shirou said after what felt like an eternity of riding in silence.

"I will change them myself when we near the Round Table." Bedivere replied, her voice seemingly returned to normal.

"It'll get infected like that. Without disinfectant it could get really bad." Without even household remedies that Shirou was used to it was hard to tell how to care for the wound. The best he could do would be to keep the wound clean and change the dressing.

Bedivere snorted. "You do realize I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself do you not? I am a knight, not one of your village girls." She said as if she was offended.

Shirou seemed a bit taken aback at the sudden change of emotion, though in the back of his mind he was sort of expecting it. Bedivere's "condition" had taken some getting used to, but he was confident he could get closer to her if he proceeded cautiously. It seemed she didn't like anyone touching her, and it made Shirou almost thankful that she had fallen unconscious the other night as it made taking care of her much easier. He couldn't even imagine how much she would have protested if she were awake. "You're right, I'm sorry. I only wanted to help."

"As long as you understand. I am thankful for you taking care of me after I fell unconscious, I do not believe I thanked you properly." Bedivere replied, switching gears from angry to appreciative.

"Don't mention it. You would have done the same for me, right?" Shirou turned his head back and smiled.

"Of course I would have. To leave a comrade injured in the battlefield is unforgivable." Bedivere replied in her knightly tone.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "I should have expected an answer like that." He mumbled. Despite having her occasional girlish moments, she was down to her core a loyal knight. Completely different from the King, who Shirou never saw act anything other than a King. Even their appearances were opposites. Arturia was slender and small bodied, very girlish despite the clothes she wore. On the other hand Bedivere was tall, stern faced and somewhat muscular but still managed to be attractive.

_Two days later…_

The Round Table was not at Camelot as Shirou had thought. Bedivere informed him that the Knights held their council at an old castle a short ride northeast of Camelot. Meeting at a remote location allowed them to conduct business in relative secrecy rather than holding a meeting in the middle of town. The Round Table was among the highest order of Knights in the Kingdom, under the direct command of the King they were often sent into dangerous lands or behind enemy lines in times of war. Above everyone else, the Knights of the Round Table were among the elite of the elite. Each of them spun their own tales throughout history and each of them accomplished great deeds.

As they neared the knight's castle, dark clouds began to cover the sky and Shirou began to smell the familiar scent of rain on the air.

"Hey, are we close? I don't want to get caught in that." Shirou asked Bedivere as he looked up at the sky.

The day before, Bedivere had returned to her own horse and was now riding next to Shirou. She still looked as though she had trouble walking, but refused to ride with Shirou for another day. Her mood swings had calmed down and she had returned to her normal self for the most part. "Yes, we are close. We should be able to see the castle soon" Bedivere replied, keeping her eyes on the horizon in front of her. She looked eager to return.

"Hey, do you know why the King wanted me to come to this meeting with you?" Shirou asked curiously.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, but it is not my place to inform you." She said with sort of an ominous tone to her voice.

Shirou frowned, now insanely curious. "Aw come on, why can't you tell me?" He pleaded with Bedivere.

"Because you will find out soon. Look, the castle is there." Bedivere pointed ahead.

As the two of them were riding, a large structure began to rise out of the horizon. The castle did indeed look old and there were eaves growing on the side. It wasn't exactly the kind of place that one would expect a king and a band of knights to meet in, but perhaps that was the point. It was still far in the distance so Shirou couldn't tell exactly how big it was, but it wouldn't be long before he found out.

Overhead Shirou heard a small rumble of thunder. It reminded him of the day he'd arrived here, back in Fuyuki when he walked with Sakura the sky looked almost exactly like this. Without knowing it, Shirou must have sighed sadly.

"Is something wrong?" Bedivere asked, tilting her head in concern.

"I just remembered that the day I came here looked exactly like this. One minute I'm walking in the rain with a friend, the next I wake up in a hole in the ground with the sun in my eyes." Shirou stared ahead, lost in thought. He thought he'd gotten over being homesick, but he can't escape the happy memories and the people he left behind.

"This friend of yours, what was her name?" Bedivere asked suddenly.

Shirou looked surprised. "How did you know it was a girl?"

Bedivere gave Shirou a look that could only be described as jealousy. She crossed her arms and frowned. "From what I know of you, it could have only been a woman."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Shirou tilted his head clueless.

The two of them approached the castle. The walls seemed to stretch out to the sky, the castle itself was made of grey stone and there was a long pillar on one of the corners that most likely held rooms within it. It reminded Shirou of a fairytale castle with a princess held at the top tower. The castle itself sat on the green grass with what looked like a stable near the outside. It looked very run down and anyone riding by would probably simply avoid it.

"This isn't really what I expected…" Shirou said as he and Bedivere approached the stables. From inside he could hear other horses moving about. They reached their destination not a moment too soon before rain began to slowly patter down on their heads.

Quickly they stabled the horses, Bedivere accepting Shirou's help to get off safely and they made their way to the front door of the castle which was a pair of large wooden doors.

Bedivere limped as she walked and occasionally even clenched her teeth trying to hide the pain. As much as Shirou wanted to help, every time he offered he was refused. Shirou thought Bedivere might think it disgraceful to meet the King being helped on her feet, even though she should not be walking in the first place. Approaching the doors, Bedivere pounded her fist three times on the gnarled looking wood.

After a few moments a rattling noise could be heard from the other side followed by the creaking of the door swinging open. It was Sir Galahad who poked his head out and he nodded once he saw Bedivere.

"Ah, Bedivere good. You two are the last to arrive." Galahad nodded to them and opened the door wider, not bothering to address Shirou at all.

Stepping inside they found themselves in a large hallway with a narrow passage on the right side of the room that looked like it led into the tower. Torches lined the hallway as Galahad led Shirou and Bedivere down the hall, the fire was their only light inside the dark castle.

"You look like you had a hard time on your quest Bedivere." Galahad mentioned casually, noticing her limp.

"If it was not dangerous, the King would not have sent a knight." Bedivere replied without much emotion, probably trying to hide the fact that she was in pain to uphold her honor.

"I am eager to hear your report on the situation then." Galahad ended the short conversation and the three of them continued to walk silently in the hallway until they entered a large chamber.

This room was circular and along the walls held many intricate tapestries and decorative windows. The walls themselves were lined with lit torches like the rest of the castle and made out of a grey stone. In the center of the room was a large wooden table, one of the biggest tables that Shirou had ever seen. Of course it was around, and around it sat a few heavily armored knights. Some of which Shirou recognized.

Lancelot was there, his helmet sitting on the table in front of him and his sword was fixed to the back of his high backed chair. Sitting next to him was Guinevere, the queen wearing a long white dress. Next to the Queen was Arturia, sitting stoically on his own chair which had the most designs carved into the wood. Next to Arturia there were two vacant chairs, one of which had a helm sitting in front of the empty chair which must belong to Galahad.

A chair over from Galahad sat a knight Shirou didn't recognize. A single glance told Shirou that he was a pretty boy. He had curly blonde hair that was cut short and wore what looked like chain mail armor, on the back of his chair was a large green shield with what must be his coat of arms on it. He was leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the table, balancing on the back two legs of the chair with a large mug of what looked like beer sitting in front of him. He was sitting there with his arms crossed, looking very bored.

"My Lord, Sir Bedivere has arrived." Galahad announced.

Everyone's eyes turned towards Bedivere and Shirou as they were announced. Guinevere in particular smiled brightly. "I am so glad you two are safe." She said brightly.

Arturia stood up and looked directly at Shirou, her expression the same as it always was. "Welcome to the Round Table, Sir Bedivere as well."

Shirou bowed awkwardly, still not used to all this formal banter. "Thank you."

"Come forward and deliver your report from the village." Arturia motioned them forward, her face soured when she saw Bedivere limp forward and kneel.

"The village on the Thames seems to be rebelling. When we approached we were met with hostility, upon sneaking into the village at night we found that the blacksmith there is making weapons for some unknown purpose. There was enough for a small army completed and I am sure that more will be manufactured." Bedivere reported while Shirou stayed silent. When she said it like that, it made things get put into perspective for Shirou. If the main smith that supplied weapons to Camelot was now rebelling and making weapons for someone else it was a very serious issue. Shirou did not want to think about what Arturia might order them to do next.

"Are you certain?" The King frowned.

"Yes." Bedivere replied immediately.

"My King if this is true we must wipe out this rebellion immediately. This means that Camelot's weapon supplies have been cut off. We must muster the armies and-" Galahad seemed enraged at the news, his fist was clenched as he spoke but he was interrupted.

"And what, Sir Galahad? Do you know what would happen if we simply attacked and took back the forges?" The one who interrupted was Lancelot, he sat with his arms crossed as he spoke to Galahad.

"Obviously these villages have betrayed us, we should show them what it means to cross the King." Galahad growled.

"You do not realize that this is larger than some simple rebellion. If it were that simple, then the supply of weapons would have slowly trickled down over time. That is not the case, it has stopped altogether, what's more we were met with the insult of receiving inferior weapons. This was carefully planned." Lancelot replied.

Arturia raised her hand to stop the argument, meanwhile the knight in green sat and listened quietly. "Sir Lancelot is correct. This is not a simple matter, what must be done next should be considered carefully." She then turned her attention back to Shirou and Bedivere. "You have done well, both of you." She motioned for them to stand.

Shirou stood easily but Bedivere looked like she was having some trouble.

"Sir Bedivere, have you been injured?" Arturia asked in concern.

"I am not worthy of your concern, I took a bad arrow when escaping the village but it has been treated." Bedivere bowed her head as she spoke.

"I would at least have someone look at it. If I were you I wouldn't even be walking around on it. If it hurts, you should say so." Shirou said suddenly narrowing his eyes at Bedivere.

"Sh-Shirou!" Bedivere stuttered angrily.

A loud clunk was heard as the green knight finally sat up in his chair and eyed Shirou. "Is this the boy? He does not seem all that impressive." He said and turned up his nose.

Arturia nodded. "Yes, this is him. Shirou, this is Sir Gawain. He has been journeying in another country but I have called him back."

"I am surprised he made his way out of the tavern in Camelot to come down here." Galahad snorted.

Sir Gawain shrugged with a smirk on his face. "It has been so long since I have been home, I had to reacquaint myself with my homeland."

"Ha! You mean with the women." Galahad replied and took a large swig from the mug in front of him.

Shirou was surprised to see everyone talking so casually, with the exception of Bedivere who simply went to her seat in between Arturia and Galahad. The atmosphere didn't seem to suit the knights as they were drinking and talking amongst themselves, Shirou was beginning to feel really out of place.

"Shirou, I am sure why you are wondering why I have asked you to come and join us." Arturia addressed him after taking a small sip from her glass.

"Yeah actually. I tried to ask Bedivere about it, but of course he refused to talk." Shirou had to refer to Bedivere as a HE again because he wasn't sure if the other knights knew about her or not. Either way, he had promised Bedivere not to talk about it. However he had no intention of treating Bedivere like a man when they were alone together, It was the same with Arturia.

And then came a surprise which Shirou was not expecting. Arturia smiled at him. Shirou couldn't remember ever seeing her smile before, and he found that it was well worth the wait. Her normally stern expression curled into a smile was beautiful, the air around her seemed to grow brighter and Shirou could swear there was a faint glowing coming from her golden hair.

"I have asked you here, because I wish you to join us."


	21. Subtle Betrayal

ACT XXI – Subtle Betrayal

"As a squire of course. You will be assigned to a knight as their assistant." Arturia explained.

"Wait a minute, what?" Shirou sat in disbelief as he stared wide eyed at Arturia. Obviously it wasn't a joke, Shirou knew full well that Arturia wasn't the type to joke. Shirou didn't think he'd done anything worthy enough to be considered for that anyway.

"Is that not such wonderful news?" Guinevere clapped her hands together excitedly with the brightest smile on her face, which was saying something since all of her smiles that Shirou had seen thus far were very bright.

Shirou turned his head upon seeing some movement and saw Arturia filling a glass from a large wooden basin in the middle of the table. Standing up she handed it to Shirou. "Come, drink with us. Though the news you have brought me is dire indeed, there is still the occasion. Your journey has been long and you and Sir Bedivere have both earned some rest."

Shirou stared for a moment until he finally reached his hand out, his fingers lightly brushed Arturia's which made him jump slightly feeling as though he'd just received an electric shock. Shaking off the feeling he took the glass and stared at the contents inside. It was most likely wine judging by the smell coming from it. Not wanting to offend the King, Shirou brought the glass to his lips and took a sip. The alcohol thankfully wasn't that strong and it went down pretty easy, the taste wasn't bad either.

"Come on boy. You look like that was the first real drink you have ever had." Lancelot scoffed as he watched this go on.

Shirou scratched his head nervously. "Actually it was…" He mumbled as averted his eyes to try and avoid seeing everyone's reactions.

Galahad, Lancelot, and Gawain all burst into laughter and even Guinevere uttered a small chuckle that sounded like the chiming of a bell. "My, how innocent you must be." She said with a giggle.

Trying hard not to look surprised at Shirou's answer as well, she produced a familiar looking horn and filled it with the wine from the table. Shirou recalled seeing it somewhere, but he couldn't recall where. It was pretty plain and unassuming with no discernible markings on it. Arturia handed it to Guinevere while holding an unreadable expression on her face.

"Ah thank you Your Majesty." She took it daintily in both hands and brought it to her lips. Nearly draining almost all of it at once, Shirou noticed a small amount spill from the edge and trickle down her chin. "Oh my, how clumsy of me." Guinevere looked embarrassed and her cheeks turned red to match her expression.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shirou saw Arturia bite her lip.

"Who will Shirou be assigned to?" Bedivere asked curiously as she took a cup from the center of the table and filled it on her own.

Upon hearing her knight's voice, Arturia turned from Guinevere and looked to her left to meet Bedivere's eyes. "I had planned on assigning him to you." She said as if her mind was elsewhere. Her eyes looked empty and devoid of any feeling, but her voice was forced as if she was in some kind of pain. Clearly, she was trying to hide something and she was thankful that no one seemed to notice.

"You do not seem to be too happy. You have been given a great honor to join us, you should act like it." Gawain narrowed his eyes at Shirou as he fluffed his hair with one of his hands.

"Honestly I think I'm more shocked than anything." Shirou answered honestly. It was kind of sudden, he didn't know what he was supposed to do or what he was supposed to feel.

"Drink boy, you will feel happier." Galahad grinned and raised his glass towards Shirou.

"Do not overdo it though, I do not want to have to carry you home." Bedivere said as she raised her cup to her lips, eyeing Shirou as she did so.

"Hmph, no one asked you to." Shirou replied as he took a large gulp of his drink, feeling the bite of the wine more than before. He wasn't sure if it was Bedivere's comment or the wine, but he could feel his cheeks flushing.

"You two are getting along well are you not? Did something happen on your journey?" Lancelot asked curiously as he gulped down his glass and prepared to serve himself another.

"Not really…"

"Yes. Shirou saved my life, I am forever in his debt for it." Bedivere nodded, speaking at the same time as Shirou had. Her voice was serious, as if she intended to devote her life to Shirou in exchange for saving hers.

"You have my thanks as well Shirou for bringing Sir Bedivere back safely." Arturia nodded in approval as she listened in.

"I…er…" Shirou stuttered and then downed his drink for being unable to come up with a response.

"Ha! Quite humble is he not?" Gawain chuckled with a grin.

"Perhaps you can learn something from him Sir Gawain." Galahad replied with pseudo-politeness.

Gawain stood up and put his arm around Galahad's shoulder. "I simply believe on taking credit where credit is due."

"I think you have had too much." Galahad replied as he pushed Gawain away who stumbled backwards a little bit. Shirou got the feeling Galahad and Gawain didn't really see eye to eye and were very competitive with one another.

The night dragged on. Shirou and the knights almost consumed the entire barrel of wine and one by one they began to get drunk. Shirou didn't feel as though this was a meeting at all, though from what Shirou has heard the Knights of the Round Table hadn't been all together in quite some time so perhaps this was their way of catching up. Shirou did feel a little out of place, but at least he was able to have a good time, even as Sir Gawain began to sing while hanging off of a very angry Sir Galahad.

Next to Shirou, Bedivere had seemingly fallen asleep. Her head was laid down on the table and her fingers were still wrapped around her cup. Lancelot was laughing while watching Sir Gawain and Galahad, and Guinevere and Arturia seemed to be completely sober. Arturia tried to keep Gawain and Galahad in line to no avail and eventually Guinevere just suggested that the King let them have their fun. Outside, the rain had not ceased and continued to patter down on the old castle.

"It doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon." Shirou mumbled to no one in particular as he craned his neck upwards to glance out the nearest window. The wine was starting to get to him and he was starting to feel kind of sluggish.

"Do not worry, we can stay here for the night and head back in the morning. This is a proper castle after all." Arturia said as she casually sipped from her cup. Her cheeks were red, but she didn't appear to show any signs of being drunk. Shirou was surprised that she acted the same even while inebriated, or perhaps it was just because she knew how to hold her drink.

"Hmmmm. I guess that's royalty for you, always prepared." Shirou lazily turned his head towards Arturia. He found it difficult to think so anything that came to his mind usually found it's way out his mouth as well.

"Poor kid is already drunk." Lancelot said nonchalantly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Me? What about Bedivere?" Not wanting to be taken lightly Shirou pointed to Bedivere who was still knocked out in her chair.

"Sir Bedivere does not count." If Shirou didn't know better he swore Lancelot was mocking him. The only problem was right now he didn't know better.

"Tch, fine. I'll show you!" Sluggishly getting up from his chair Shirou refilled his glass, brought it to his lips and started to chug. It went down a little tougher since Shirou was chugging it, but he could barely taste it anymore.

"Ah! There he goes!" Upon noticing this, Gawain pointed with a laugh.

Growling Shirou downed the glass and filled it up again. He wasn't about to lose to these knights.

Gawain inched his way over to Lancelot and motioned for him to look at Shirou. "You see, if you look very closely you can see the boy's innocence flying away right about…" His voice trailed off.

Shirou chugged a second glass and let lose an enormous belch that seemed to vibrate the castle walls. "There." Gawain finished with a grin.

"Don't shu undereshtimate me-hic" Shirou hiccupped and blacked out, his head smacking into the table with a loud thud.

"I suppose that was a fair attempt." Gawain shrugged.

"Tch. He needs more training." Lancelot clucked his tongue, unimpressed.

Guinevere giggled. "I think it is going to become more lively around here."


	22. Competition for a Heart

ACT XXII – Competition for a Heart

Shirou woke up in bed the next morning. His head felt like he was going to split in half. As his eyes opened slowly, the sunlight from outside burning into his retinas he realized he was not in his own house. He sat bolt upright in surprise, which only made his head hurt more.

"Arg! Dammit where the hell am I?" He clutched his head and looked around, the house looked like it only had a single room much like his own. On the table in the center there was a vase of flower and there were several other vases of flowers about the house. It smelled less like dirt than his own, a faint fruity scent wafted into his nose and made him realize that this was probably a girl's home.

"Good afternoon Shirou." A voice called out to him as the front door open in a rather timely fashion. It was Lina who stepped inside the door and made her way over to Shirou's bedside.

Shirou was confused. The last thing he remembered was drinking with the Knights at the old castle, his head hurt and he was disoriented. "What the hell happened? Why am I in your house?"

"Sir Bedivere was here this morning and left you and your things here with me saying I should look after you. Sir Bedivere looked injured and you had some cuts on your neck, what happened?" Lina sat on the bed and Shirou scooted back from her, being in the same room alone with a girl made him really uneasy.

"We ran into some trouble. Wait a minute… did you say it was afternoon?" Shirou tilted his head.

Linda nodded. "Yes, you have been sleeping all morning." She heaved a sigh. "Honestly, whenever you are near trouble seems to follow you."

Shirou scratched the back of his head. From her point of view she was probably right. He swung his legs over the bed and stood up, his head went dizzy and he had to sit back down immediately.

"You should not move around too much yet. It if anything happens to you it would only worry Elise further." Lina roughly pushed his shoulders back onto the mattress. That push was pretty aggressive and Shirou could tell that Lina was actually really strong but there was no point in fighting her.

"Elise? She's worried about me?" He didn't fight Lina, if Elise really was worried trying to move would only make it worse if she were to find out about it.

"Of course she is, silly." Lina tossed her hair over her shoulder and scowled.

Shirou sat up, slower this time. Maybe if he took things slow he'd be all right. "I can't stay in bed all day because of a hangover, there's something I want to do at the castle."

Lina frowned. "You are not going to the castle if I have anything to say about it." She shoved a sweet roll from the bakery into Shirou's hand. "Elise should be here soon, so eat."

"Thanks for taking care of me Lina." Shirou smiled and thanked her as he bit into the roll.

Lina smiled. "It's no trouble at all."

A minute later as Lina had predicted, Elise came rushing in through the front door wearing a worried expression that told Shirou that she had ran here.

"Is Shirou okay?" She asked, clearly out of breath as she trotted over to Shirou's bedside.

"I'm fine, you two are worrying way too much." Shirou replied reassuring the girls as he sat up, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Lina.

"I was not worried." Lina said with a huff as she turned up her nose at Shirou.

Elise sat on the edge of the bed and took the roll Shirou had bitten into. "Your face is very pale, I do not think you realize how bad you look." Elise pinched off a small amount of bread from the roll and held it out between her fingers.

"What are you doing?" Shirou raised an eyebrow and stared at Elise.

"I am going to make sure you rest so that you can feel better." Elise replied, holding her fingers out expectantly. Shirou thought she was being very overzealous, there was no way he was going to eat out of her hand. It was embarrassing first off, also there was the fact that he wasn't so debilitated he couldn't feed himself.

"I just need some fresh air, I'll be fine. Really." Shirou leaned forward and swung his legs passed Elise.

Lina heaved a sigh and stood from the bedside. "If you really insist on leaving then I will go with you. After all you would only cause more trouble if something else happened to you."

"I am coming too!" Elise stood straight up with Lina.

Shirou was glad that the girls finally let him outside into the afternoon air. The cool breeze on his skin felt wonderful and it was then he realized how hot he was while inside. The girls followed him outside, looking ready to catch him if he started to stagger but that last few minutes inside resting seemed to have done his body good. Shirou turned his gaze towards the castle where Arturia and the Knights were probably going about their business.

Lina stepped in front of his vision of the castle, looking mad. "I told you that you are not going to the castle today."

Elise nodded in agreement. "You must relax today. I know just the place. Come." To Shirou's surprise Elise grabbed his hand and began to jog leading him along. Shirou could swear she had a smile on her face as though she were planning something.

Elise led Shirou along the main road through Camelot, other villagers stopped and stared. Even more so as Lina caught up and grabbed his arm.

"Do not misunderstand, I only wish to make sure you will not trip." Lina made sure to remind Shirou as she tightly held his arm.

Shirou knew he should be happier about having a girl hanging off of each arm, but he was a little annoyed about being taken somewhere against his will. What's more, he wanted to be at the castle. It had been some time since he'd talked to Merlin and he had been wondering what the old Magus had been up to.

"Where exactly am I being kidnapped off to?" Shirou asked with a sigh as he resigned himself to being obediently led by the girls.

"Kidnapped?" Lina gasped and looked offended.

"If you think about it, we are taking Shirou against his will. It may as well be a kidnapping." Elise grinned devilishly over at Lina.

"Oh I see…" Lina giggled. "This could be fun."

"Fun? You just admitted to kidnapping!" Shirou exclaimed. Though if this was how all kidnappings took place it might not be so had. When Elise giggled she hugged Shirou's arm a little tighter making his arm squish against something soft. Shirou tried his best not to think about it but that was easier said than done.

Shirou shook the thoughts out of his mind. "You never answered my question on where we're going." Shirou asked again curiously. They had now left the village and were still walking to an unknown destination.

"If we are kidnapping you, then we do not have to tell you where we are going." Lina giggled playfully.

"That is exactly right!" Elise nodded in agreement looking much too happy while still holding Shirou's other arm.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "You two are having way too much fun with this…" As far as he knew Elise didn't tell Lina where they were going but the way she acted she must have at least some idea. Sometimes Shirou swore they were in sync or something, then again they have known each other for a long time so he was sure they had at least some idea what the other was thinking. Shirou also wondered why they weren't taking a horse if they were leaving town.

"Hmm, if we are going to be gone long then I should go back and let father know…" Elise pondered out loud.

"That would be wise I think. If he has to look for you he might get angry." Lina replied. Geoff is a pretty protective father, Shirou would hate to see him really angry.

Elise nodded. "Then I will head back, let father know what we are doing, and gather a few things. I will catch you two up later."

"If you need a horse you can grab Hikari. He's pretty friendly and I bet he'd let you ride him." Shirou suggested.

"Very well then, I will keep an eye on our hostage." Lina grinned again.

"I shall see you two later then!" Elise waved and started to skip off in the direction that they came while humming a tune Shirou had never heard before. She did look very happy but Shirou thought that Elise must be a pretty ditzy girl to decide that she wanted something after walking for ten minutes.

"She looks pretty happy today." Shirou commented as he watched Elise skip back towards down.

"It is not often we add another person into our group." Lina turned and watched Elise as well. A cool breeze picked up enough to flutter the grass as well as Shirou and Lina's clothing. Shirou thought that these girls should be very sought after by other guys, but whenever he saw them they were always just by themselves. How long had it been like that?

"Aren't you two well liked? You're both young, very pretty, and smart, yet I never see you around with anyone else." It was embarrassing to tell Lina that she was cute but he couldn't help but feel he wanted to get closer to the girls. Shirou felt that they were his valuable friends.

Lina shook her head. "We are not proper ladies in the eyes of the other villagers. They think that we are strange. There are not a lot of men who wish to court a lady who can beat them in arm wrestling or like to climb trees. The same could be said for the other girls." She looked almost sad as she explained. So society had outcast them because of the way they were which of course they couldn't help it.

Shirou grit his teeth as he listened to Lina's explanation. The two girls were so nice and they cared about him. If only the others could see them through his eyes it would be different. Back in Fuyuki, Shirou knew girls similar to Lina and Elise who had many friends and were liked by many people. Society had changed from this time now to the future that Shirou was used to.

Shirou felt Lina squeeze his arm harder. He turned his head to find her staring into his eyes. Her chocolate colored eyes seemed to pull him inside. She'd never looked at him like this before. While answering Shirou question she must have remembered some unpleasant things, Lina looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"You will not abandon us too will you?" Lina hugged Shirou's arm as if it was the last thing in the world she treasured, hugging it hard enough to cause Shirou mild pain.

Her question flabbergasted Shirou. He felt it was his fault for bringing up a painful subject. He didn't know how painful it must have been, but judging by her reaction it must have been really hard on Lina. Why would she ask a question like that after all that they've been through? "Lina I-"

"You are the first friend we have had in many years…" Any other girl would have started crying by now, but not Lina. She just talked her heart out while staring back at Shirou.

Shirou raised his free hand and began to gently pat her head while offering her a faint smile. At that moment, going home to Fuyuki didn't even enter Shirou's head. He would resign himself to never going home since there seemed to be very little chance of it anyway. If Merlin can't help him, then there is probably no one who can. Shirou Emiya was going to stay in England, but maybe… just maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Starting his life here needs a purpose, and now he had that purpose. This girl in front of him staring as he patted her head, he wanted to protect her and those like her. He wanted to climb the ranks and be a knight, after that he would be working directly under Arturia and he would use his new power to create a sword to protect the ones he cared about.

"I'm not going anywhere."

His proclamation seemed to surprise Lina and she froze and seemed to stare deeper into Shirou's eyes. "Do you promise that you will not leave us?" She asked, speaking for both herself and Elise who was off in town still doing who knows what.

Shirou nodded and made a promise that he must never break.

The next thing that happened made Shirou's mind go blank. The hand that had been patting Lina's head was violently grabbed and pulled straight behind him, his body was turned towards Lina's and he felt something soft and wet press against his lips. His arm did hurt, Lina was pulling it pretty hard but that was nothing compared to the feeling of her body against his own. He could feel every curve from under her thin clothes.

Lina held his wrists tightly so Shirou couldn't touch her and instinctively he leaned backward but when he did so Lina leaned forward. Her soft lips were aggressive but not lustful as if she had no clue what she was doing, as Shirou leaned back Lina's hair brushed against his face. In an instant she had taken all free will from Shirou, he was now at her mercy, his mind in a blank haze.

Lina continued to press forward onto Shirou as if to confirm that he was in fact real, after a particularly aggressive push Shirou could no longer hold his balance and he toppled backward as though Lina was pulling him to the ground. The two of them hit the cool grass below with a thud and landed with Lina on top. Her chest ended up on Shirou's head but her breasts weren't pronounced enough to smother Shirou. As far as breast sizes went, Lina's were only a little bigger than Arturia's.

In an instant Lina released a surprised noise and hopped off of Shirou's body.

Shirou, still laying sprawled on the grass in a daze brought his hand and lightly touched his lips. "Wh-What just happened?" He realized that Lina had just taken his first kiss, but he still couldn't quite process the information in his brain. He remembered Lina grabbing him and then nothing after that.

"L-Listen you…" Lina cleared her throat. "Do not tell anyone about what just happened. That was an accident you see. An accident!" She said seriously while not facing Shirou. She even sounded angry.

Shirou got a feeling of déjà vu at that moment, like he'd been in this situation before. "Which part? The falling or the-?" He wasn't able to finish his sentence however as Lina had just kicked him hard in the knee while glaring at him with a face as red as a fresh tomato. Shirou flinched and realized that Lina was really embarrassed about what she just did. Shirou also made a mental note that Lina was the aggressive type. "Right… accident." He coughed. Like hell it was. That sort of thing wasn't something Shirou could just forget.

"One more thing, do not pat my head, I am not a dog." Lina hmph'd and crossed her arms. So she said, but Shirou didn't hear any complaints about it from her earlier. The way he remembered it Lina looked like she was enjoying it.

Shirou chuckled, glad Lina was seemingly back to normal. "As you wish."

"Do not laugh!" Lina growled and kicked Shirou again. He let her do it and laid back down on the grass while contemplating the way he should feel about what just happened. Lina was a very cute girl and he couldn't help but be happy about having his first kiss taken by someone like her. Though Shirou always thought his first kiss would be with Sakura or someone else he knew from his school.

Off in the distance Shirou saw a figure coming towards them from Camelot, it was probably Elise and it looked like she was riding Shirou's horse. "Looks like Elise is coming back…" Shirou mentioned casually in an attempt to wipe away the awkwardness that had now settled over him and Lina.

"Yes it appears so." She replied then turned around to glare at Shirou. "Don't tel her about what happened." She asked.

Shirou sighed when she still insisted on calling her kissing him an accident but he nodded in assent anyway. "Alright, I won't tell her." He shrugged and then got to his feet to greet Elise as she trotted forward.

"You could have gone on without me. I did say I would catch up." Elise looked a little disappointed as she trotted forward on Hikari and greeted Lina and Shirou.

"The rest of the journey would not have been the same without you." Lina said with a smile.

"He didn't give you any trouble did he?" Shirou walked over and petted Hikari on the head.

Elise shook her head. "No. I gave him a little bread and he let me right into the saddle."

"Good boy." Shirou patted his horse.

"Let us get going, we still have a bit to go." Lina mentioned and pressed them on.

"Right!" Elise exclaimed enthusiastically.

"You two still haven't told me anything about where we're going…" Shirou heaved a sigh as he followed the two girls who were now in the lead.

"You will find out when we get there." Lina said ominously. All this secrecy only made Shirou even more curious.

There was a forest up ahead that they seemed to be heading straight towards, wherever he was being leaded to it was probably in there. It felt strange to be around Lina after what happened between them earlier but it seemed like she didn't want it to develop into anything. As of now she wasn't acting any differently than she normally was. Shirou looked behind him towards Camelot which could now only barely be seen.

Shirou then he stopped dead in his tracks. He knew exactly where he was. The forest in front of him looked very familiar as did the grassy field on which the three of them were walking. He was near the spot where his life had been turned upside down and he was thrown into a world he knew nothing about. Somewhere near here should be the crater in the ground where he entered this time period. He wanted to see it again, he wasn't sure why but he felt a strong pull telling him he wanted to go back.

"Shirou if you fall behind we are leaving you here." Lina threatened as she looked back and saw Shirou staring blankly into the distance. She patted the horse letting Elise know there was something wrong and she stopped the horse.

"Shirou? Are you well?" Elise asked worriedly.

"It's over there…" Turning his head towards the East his voice came out mumbled, as if he were in a trance of some kind. Without realizing it he was walking in the direction his head was facing as if drawn there.

"Shirou, what is over there?" Elise followed him on Hikari, trotting next to him. Lina followed as well and grabbed his hand, finding that he didn't grab it back she too looked worried.

"What is wrong with him?" Lina asked Elise.

Elise just shook her head. "I do not know, perhaps we should get help?"

"I do not think we should leave him…"

After a short time Shirou stopped at a large circular crater in the ground. This was the spot he fell into from the sky. This place practically bled magical energy from the huge amount that was used to send him here.

"Shirou what is that?" Elise stopped the horse at the edge and Lina stopped walking.

"It's how I got here." Shirou mumbled and stared into the hole. There was something he was meant to find here, he felt it but he couldn't think of anything that it might be. There was still a hole after the month that he'd been here.

"I do not like it here…" Lina said with a shiver.

"Nor do I. I feel as though we should leave quickly." Elise said. Hikari too was looking uneasy.

"I think there's something I'm supposed to find here." Shirou looked around but couldn't see anything.

"There is nothing here. Let us leave, please." Lina said again, her voice almost begging. She and everyone else was very uncomfortable.

Lina walked forward and grabbed Shirou's hand again. This time he squeezed back. "Okay, let's get out of here…" He agreed hesitantly but if he realizes something he can always come back on his own now that he knows exactly where it is.

Lina began to pull him away from the crater and with just a little resistance at first and it wasn't long before they were back on the path they originally were.

"You fell from the sky did you not?" Elise asked curiously. Shirou realized he never really told anyone besides Merlin the particulars of his arrival. He was afraid that no one would believe him.

"Yeah something like that…" Shirou still didn't know how to explain it and he didn't know what it was.

"Did it not hurt?" Lina asked next.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, a lot actually." He'd broken a leg and a couple ribs when he hit the ground. It was very painful.

"Do you miss your home?" Elise asked innocently. Next to Shirou Lina clicked her tongue and bit her lip.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah I do, I'll never forget my friends there. Unfortunately I can't ever go back, so I figured I would stay here with you two if you don't mind." He said with a smile.

Lina laughed happily. "Of course we do not mind. I am happy that you will stay." She beamed brightly.

"Hmph, it appears your mind has made up. If you wish to stay that much I will not stop you." Elise replied in her usual manner, her head turned away. Little did Shirou know, she was smiling too.

Shirou and the girls made their way into the forest. The thick trees blocked most of the sun from view leaving the forest very dark. Leaves covered the ground and made crunching noises whenever something stepped on them. The smell of the leaves filled Shirou's nose, each time he smelled it got more familiar. So much so he had nearly forgotten what Fuyuki City smelled like.

Before the forest got too thick Elise stopped Hikari and hopped off of him, taking a small pack from the horse's back that Shirou hadn't seen before. Elise petted the horse's face gently. "Stay here, alright?" She said to Hikari, who's eyes seem to tell her that he understood.

"The forest will get thick from here on out, but we are almost there." Elise informed Shirou as she and Lina led the way through the forest.

Just by watching Shirou could tell that they were undoubtedly used to moving through dense forests like this, they must do this sort of thing a lot. They both really were tomboyish, but Shirou didn't really consider that a bad thing. After all he knew a certain captain of the Archery club back at school that was also a huge tomboy.

The forest was very quiet save for the leaves underneath Shirou's feet, he couldn't hear any birds or other animals and it was only midday so there should at least be birds out. The forest looked very old and occasionally the three of them would have to jump over a fallen tree or a hollowed out log.

They traipsed through the forest for what felt like an eternity to Shirou before they came into a clearing. It was a circular area about twenty yards in diameter with an unnaturally clean pond under a huge tree, probably the oldest tree in the forest standing taller than the ones that Shirou had seen so far. His breath was taken away, the clearing looked like it was straight out of a fantasy book and he was surprised he didn't see a unicorn drinking from the pond or something.

"What is this place?" Shirou asked in awe.

"Legend has it fairies used to inhabit this forest." Lina said as Elise took her bag and skipped into the clearing while laughing happily.

"I think this tree used to be their home." Elise chimed in as she plopped down on the grass and began to rummage through the back.

"We stumbled in here a couple of years ago, I do not think anyone else knows of this place. It has become our secret." Lina stepped into the clearing, above their heads there was a break in the trees above allowing a single beam of sunlight to pass through the canopy.

"You two go wandering around in the forests that often?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Ehehe, whenever we get the opportunity." Lina said with a cute giggle. "Come on you two, let us eat." Elise pulled bread and cheese out of her bag as well as a jar full of milk.

Inside the magical clearing that did indeed look like it used to house fairies, Shirou and the girls sat down to eat lunch. Shirou had been eating a lot of bread lately and it had gotten old, the taste of the cheese made it a little better though. The three of them shared the jar of milk, all the while Shirou trying not to think about the fact that he had just indirectly kissed both Lina and Elise.

"Have you ever swam in there?" Shirou asked, looking sideways at the water. It was really clear, no scum or any loose leaves on the surface and Shirou could see almost to the bottom.

Both of the girls nodded at once, each with a mouthful of food. "Yes, it is wonderful for bathing. It is as if the water never gets dirty." Lina said after swallowing the food in her mouth.

An image flashed in his mind of the two girls swimming in the pond together in tight fitting swimsuits. By their body structure Shirou thought that Lina would look best in a school swimsuit while Elise should wear a bikini. Then the realization hit them that girls in this time period probably would not wear anything when swimming. To hide his blushing face Shirou got up and dipped his hand into the water.

"I thought it would be colder…" It wasn't warm by any means, but it wasn't at an uncomfortably cold temperature, it would be pretty nice to swim in.

"Lina, do you want to go up?" Elise asked with an excited grin.

"Up? You mean up there?" Shirou pointed towards the top of the tree in the clearing.

Lina nodded. "I would love to. Do you think it can hold the three of us?"

Elise clapped. "Oh yes! The tall branch is very thick."

So it seemed they were going to climb the huge tree in the clearing. Shirou hadn't climbed many trees, but he didn't want to let these two girls show him up so this was a good a time as any to learn how.

The two girls trotted over to the tree and started to climb up, finding foot and handholds like they had done it a hundred times. Elise started to climb first, followed by Lina. Shirou then realized why the two girls never seemed to wear skirts or dresses.

Shirou did his best to follow the girls but they were way too fast and he had trouble finding the same places they used to climb up.

"You are slow Shirou, hurry." Lina looked below herself and yelled down at Shirou who had barely left the ground while the two girls were starting to near the middle of the tree.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." Shirou called back up to her. He was trying his best but there was no way to match their speed. He had to be slow and careful or he'd fall, falling from a tree this height would probably kill him unless he landed in the water of the pool. Even then he might hit the water with enough force to break something.

A minute or so later the girls had reached the top, swiftly sticking their heads out of the top of the tree while using the thick branches surrounding the top to stand on. The girls shuffled around and made room for Shirou once he reached the top and he too poked his head above the top of the tree.

It was a beautiful sight. This indeed was the tallest tree in the forest and he was now looking out over it. The warmth of the sun hit his skin and the cool breeze hit his face and ruffled his and the girls' hair. In front of Shirou was a sea of green but not of grass, they were the tops of the trees that stretched out before his eyes. Birds flew and chirped overhead and the wind created ripples like the water's surface in the tops of the trees.

Things like this he could never see in Japan. This was England's beauty, this could only be found here. Lina and Elise seemed pleased by Shirou's reaction.

"Beautiful is it not?" Elise asked with a smile as the wind ruffled her hair.

Shirou nodded. "I've never seen anything like it."

"While we are here, let us take a bath!" Elise exclaimed.

"That does sound nice." Lina replied and the two girls started to climb down.

Shirou looked down and wanted to climb down until he saw how high up he was. "Ugh…" Getting up the tree was the easy part, getting down would be more challenging. Also if the girls wanted to take a bath Shirou wanted to give them their privacy so it might be a good idea to stay here for now anyway since the view was so nice.

"Shirou come on." Elise said as she and Lina descended.

Shirou looked down at Elise and found himself looking at the ground again. "You two go ahead, I uh… think I'll stay here for a bit."

"Are you not a man? If you are then come down with us." Lina called up to Shirou.

"Ah crap." She said the perfect thing to get his soul pumping. He had to get out of the tree now. In his mind he kept telling himself not to look down and that it would be easy. He took the first step down and found the footholds he used to get up.

Meanwhile the girls reached the ground and stood around at the bottom of the tree watching to make sure he made it down okay.

"Dammit… okay Shirou… it's the same way you got up here. Just backwards." Shirou said to himself as he climbed down fine, albeit slowly. After the nerve wracking climb Shirou finally stepped down back onto solid ground and heaved a sigh.

Elise clapped. "Very good!" She cheered enthusiastically.

"Okay, you two take a bath and I'll go um… somewhere else." Shirou began to walk off towards the forest.

"You cannot leave, you will get lost." Elise informed him. She was probably right, Shirou didn't know the forest as well as the girls did and any adventure out in it on his own would probably end badly.

"Sit behind the tree then. It is large enough that you may hide behind it." Lina didn't seemed to mind that he was there and began to undress.

"Oh man, at least wait till I'm there!" In a flash Shirou retreated behind the tree with Elise's giggling behind him.

"I do not mind if I am seen, as long as it is by you." Elise said and Shirou could hear the ruffling sounds as the girls took off their clothes.

Shirou sat with his back against the tree, looking into the forest as he contemplated if he made the right decision or not. He could have just passed up a once in a lifetime opportunity to swim naked with two very cute girls… but on the other hand that kind of thing might be too much for them to handle. The girls were very open about a few things and they didn't seem to care at all of Shirou saw them naked or they saw him naked, which he wasn't used to at all. At this point he figured it was best just to give them their privacy, but he couldn't help but wonder if he should just go jump in there with them.

Behind him he heard the sounds of the girls in the water, splashing and laughing happily. Soon Shirou resigned himself to reciting Buddhist chants he learned from his friend at school to cleanse his soul of impure thoughts.

After about fifteen minutes Shirou heard the girls get out of the water. They sounded like they had a lot of fun and it was about this time Shirou was starting to regret that he didn't go in with them. He heaved a sigh. After waiting for the girls to dry off they suggested that they head back to town because the sun would be going down soon and after packing everything up they were on their way back with Elise riding Hikari.

"Thanks for bringing me you two, I had fun." Shirou thanked the two girls with a smile after they were about halfway back to town.

"I am happy you did. I hope we can return together many times." Elise replied with a bright smile.

"Hmph, if you enjoyed yourself then I am satisfied." Lina said as she brushed her hair aside.

The three of them reached down by nightfall and said their goodbyes, both Lina and Elise were escorted home by Shirou. After the girls were home Shirou took Hikari's reins and walked him back to Shirou's house as well.

"Why do I get the feeling I forgot something?" Shirou asked Hikari as he tied him up to the post outside.

The horse huffed and tossed his mane as if to answer Shirou. Then he realized it.

"Oh man… I forgot to tell them I'm going to be a squire starting tomorrow…"


	23. Moving Up

ACT XXIII – Moving Up

The next morning at the crack of dawn, Shirou was once again rudely awakened by a loud banging on his front door followed immediately by a figure stepping through his doorway into his house. In his still half asleep mind, Shirou thought that he should put a lock on his door because of the fact that every day for awhile now someone has been waking him up. Shirou was used to getting up early on his own, but this time the sun hadn't even fully risen yet and as he sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes he found Sir Bedivere standing before him and glaring down at him.

"Your presence was requested yesterday. What were you doing? I went to retrieve you from that girl and neither you nor her were there." Bedivere glared down at Shirou with her hands on her hips. Shirou swore there was a hint of jealousy in her voice but it could have been just his imagination.

"Nobody told me I couldn't leave. I couldn't stay cooped up in that house all day so I went for a walk and the girls ended up leading me somewhere." Shirou said with a yawn as he stretched his arms and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"So there was more than one? Was it those two girls from before?" Bedivere asked curiously, though Shirou could tell that his answer was probably making her more angry. The reason this was Shirou was unable to fathom, least of all not now in his half asleep brain.

Shirou nodded and stood up from his bed. "Yeah, I think you've met Lina and Elise before."

Bedivere did not seem the least bit interested in what the two girls' names were. She watched impatiently as Shirou made his way over to the basin of water on the table in the center of the house and splashed water on his face. "Make haste, I must get you to the castle so that we may get you into your new armor."

Shirou dried his face off. He'd almost forgotten about the armor that the blacksmith in town had been forging this whole time. It had indeed been about a month since then, it was very easy to lose track of time. Luckily Shirou was already dressed. He didn't like the idea of wearing the same clothing for a few days before he changed, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Alright, let's go." Shirou said as he finished up and grabbed his sword from his bedside. As he rode on Hikari with Sir Bedivere, the shock with what was going to happen that day caught up with him. He was probably only hours away from joining the Knights of the Round Table. Just the thought of it made his heart pound in his chest, so many things have happened since he got here but this one takes the cake of the most spectacular.

Soon they were in the courtyard of Camelot Castle, the guards were all standing at attention as Bedivere and Shirou passed them and made their way into the throne room. Arturia was already there maybe an early riser herself like Shirou or perhaps she had to be woken up as well. Her expression changed from its usual stoic manner as Shirou and Bedivere approached her and knelt down.

"I have returned, my King." Bedivere greeted Arturia formally.

"Arise, both of you." Arturia ordered then turned her attention to Shirou. "I would have liked you to be here yesterday, if something is wrong then we will not have time to remedy it." She said seriously.

"Sorry about that, I didn't know I was expected here yesterday." Shirou apologized. If it was that important, why didn't they tell him?

"It does not matter any longer. Captain, let the blacksmith know that we are ready for him." Arturia turned to Cardigan who was standing off to the side in the shadows where Shirou didn't notice him.

"Right away." Cardigan bowed and left the room in a hurry.

A few moments later, Cardigan came back with the scruffy looking blacksmith and his two assistants carrying a large wooden crate. "Yer Majesty. Captain." He said as he heaved the box in and set it down on the floor. Without a moment's notice he ripped off the top of it and dug his hands in, coming out with what Shirou guessed was the breastplate.

It seemed to glow all on it's own as if it was made of pure silver, the metal was thin and had a similar design like Arturia's etched into the front of it. As he took it out he turned to Shirou.

"Well c'mere laddie, it's not gonna bite ye." The blacksmith beckoned Shirou over and so began the arduous process of putting on his armor. "I am only gonna show ye how ta do this once. So ye best pay attention."

The pieces of the armor were fixed on his body one by one. First came a cloth robe, thin and royal blue in color over Shirou's head. It was very strange having some old man dress him like this but he had to learn how to do this himself. Arturia and the others watched as the cloth came over his head. It covered his whole body and it ended in a skirt that went passed his knees, even covering his arms up to the wrists. The breastplate was in two pieces and they were held together by metal clasps that hooked up together much like the locks on a suitcase.

The plate was surprisingly light, Shirou expected it to be much heavier. As the blacksmith was fixing his breastplate to his chest his assistants came forward and put the metal greaves on his legs and boots on his feet. They had done it in an instant but they hooked together with the same type of mechanisms that was on the breastplate. The breastplate had a guard on either side to protect his hips and thighs and more metal surrounded his neck to protect it from damage. Next came his belt which on closer inspection was a pair of belts with golden buckles. Shirou buckled the first tight to his waist, while the other was buckled over it at an angle.

Shirou's gauntlets were the easiest part to put on as they just slipped over his hands like gloves. Once they were on, he flexed his fingers finding that the movement wasn't restricted at all and he could move all five fingers and his wrists freely. The metal armor clung tight to his figure but didn't restrict his movement, it didn't pinch and it felt normal to wear over the silk robe under it.

"Well, what do ye think laddie?" The blacksmith asked as he stepped back to admire his work.

Shirou twisted his body, testing the movement. "I thought it would be heavier." He mentioned casually.

"Aye normally it would be. Since yer such a scrawny boy I used a new technique to work the metal, making it stronger, yet lighter as well. I dare say it's the finest set of armor I've ever forged." The smith nodded. "Ah! I nearly forgot" He said in surprise and reached into the box pulling out another piece of cloth and handing it to Shirou.

It was folded and adorned with a chain ending in two cross shaped charms on either side of the chain. Shirou unfolded it and found that it was a cape. The main part of it was white, but there was a smaller piece of cloth sewn into it that was the same royal blue as his silk robe bordered with gold. Shirou stared at it for a moment before throwing it around him and fixing it to his armor.

As he was admiring himself, he swore he caught Arturia cracking a small smile out of the corner of his eye. "It is fine armor fit for an aspiring knight." She said proudly and nodded to the smith in thanks.

Shirou fixed his sword to the new belt at his side and turned around in a circle. His cape reached almost to the ground, as did the cloth from the robe under his armor hiding his legs. Now he really did look like a knight.

"You look very dashing in that armor." Bedivere said with a smile.

"Er… thanks. It feels good, easy to move in. Yeah, this is good." Shirou said as he moved his arms around, continuing to test the armor's limitations. It had only taken about five minutes to put on his armor, yet it felt like an eternity. The smith and his assistants left the room and once again he was left in the throne room. "I'm still just a squire though, right? Isn't this a bit much?" He asked Bedivere.

"Maybe, but if you're going to be a squire for one of the Knights of the Round Table, you had best look the part, yes?" She replied.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Shirou asked again, a bit confused.

"If I have any orders to give to you, you must follow them. The duty of a squire is to attend to his knight's every need. Which in all honestly, you have been doing a fine job of already." Bedivere said with approval.

Shirou felt a pat on his shoulder and looked up to see a familiar cloaked old man standing next to him. Where he came from or how he got in here without anyone noticing was beyond Shirou's comprehension. "Merlin!"

"Sir Bedivere is correct, just keep doing what you have been doing." Merlin grinned as he gave Shirou a hard smack on the back. Though he couldn't feel it through his armor.

"I haven't seen you for almost a week and you greet me like that?" Shirou frowned. He figured Merlin would have something more profound today, or at least make some kind of comment about his progress. He should probably expect it at this point. Merlin was becoming notoriously predictable in his unpredictability. Still, he was something of a mentor to Shirou along with Sir Lancelot.

"It is not as though I do not know what you have been doing. I do have eyes everywhere after all. From my perspective, it is as though you have not been gone at all." Merlin said with an ominous smile through his beard.

"So you have been keeping an eye on me?" Shirou crossed his arms.

"Only to make sure that you are still alive. I have put a lot have time into you, I can not let you be killed just yet." Merlin replied with a stroke of his beard.

"Ugh…" Shirou's head drooped at Merlin's answer. He had a feeling that this old man might be stalking him.

"And what of those two girls you are always with? They both are quite pretty, but you cannot have them both boy." Merlin nudged Shirou in the side with his elbow.

"What are you talking about old man?" Shirou growled.

"What I am talking about boy, is love! Love is important at your age!" Merlin patted Shirou on the shoulder again, sounding very enthusiastic.

"You're trying to tell me something aren't you?" Shirou scratched his head.

"I am trying to tell you that you should court one of those girls."

If there were something in his mouth, Shirou was sure he would have spit it out. "You're starting to sound like Sir Bedivere…"

Bedivere merely stood silent at this remark.

Merlin chuckled heartily. "Am I now?" He shrugged. "Whoever I may sound like to you, you should reveal your feelings to those girls soon. There are others waiting." Merlin said with a grin as he cast a side glance towards the throne where Arturia and Bedivere were standing. Upon noticing this, Sir Bedivere's face turned beet red. After which she turned away from Shirou and Merlin and coughed.

"Merlin." Arturia called his name to get his attention.

Merlin cleared his throat. "My my, I'm terribly sorry. Forgive an old man and his ramblings, I am keeping the boy from his duties." He nodded apologetically at Arturia.

"What about my magic training?" Shirou asked.

"Keep practicing your projection magic and the other techniques I have taught you for now. I will send for you when you are ready to learn more." Merlin replied with a smile.

"You have plenty more to learn from me, however. Come." Lancelot appeared out of a side corridor in the castle and beckoned for Shirou to follow him.


	24. New Orders

ACT XXIV – New Orders

"Today you will begin the next level of your training." Lancelot said to Shirou. The two of them were in the training grounds. After Shirou had parted ways with Bedivere and Merlin, Lancelot requested that Shirou meet him there. Reluctantly Shirou went, only to find Lancelot and three soldiers waiting for him.

"Weren't we finished when the two of us fought?" Shirou scratched his head.

"Foolish boy! That was before you were assigned to one of us. As a squire to a knight you must never allow your skills to dull. I've taught you how to fight one person, now you must learn how to fight many more." Lancelot lectured. Shirou sighed, now realizing why the three other soldiers were there.

"It's such an honor to be helping you sir knight." One of the soldiers saluted.

Lancelot motioned a hand towards the three soldiers. "These are three soldiers from the 7th Legion They will be helping me train you from now on."

"I am Gilbert." The soldier that had spoke to Shirou earlier bowed once again.

"My name is Tristan. It is an honor sir." He saluted.

"Errol. It is a pleasure." He nodded politely.

"Um, isn't it a bit much to ask to pull soldiers off duty just to help me train?" Shirou scratched the back of his head.

The three soldiers laughed. "The 7th Legion is two thousand men strong, losing the three of us is not that serious." Gilbert replied with a grin.

"That is correct. We are a part of the largest and best squad in the kingdom!" Errol said with much enthusiasm.

"The problem is we are not at war at the moment, so there is not much for us to do." Tristan sighed.

"Well we did have that bit of a rebellion near the Thames. The very town Sir Bedivere was sent to." Gilbert said to the other two.

"You mean the village with the blacksmith in it? I didn't hear anything about soldiers being sent there." Shirou was surprised to hear that the village had already been taken back by Arturia.

Tristan shrugged. "We barely needed 200 men for it. It was not even worth calling a "rebellion" at all."

"I was just thankful to be on the battlefield again. It has been frightfully boring of late." Errol heaved a sigh.

"Save the talk for later, that is not why I have asked you here." Lancelot, tired of listening to the banter finally spoke up.

"We're sorry sir." The trio apologized and drew their swords simultaneously as if they had been practicing it.

Lancelot drew his sword as well. Shirou took a step back. "Wait wait, isn't there something you're supposed to say first?" Were all four of them just going to come at him? Without knowing what to do he could end up getting hurt.

"There is nothing to say, the only way you will learn here is through experience." Lancelot raised his sword, the soldiers next to him instinctively did the same.

Shirou drew his sword from his side and quickly formed a projection of Arondight in his other hand, which sent a familiar pulse of strength rushing through his body as he gripped the handle. The three soldiers didn't seem the least bit surprised by his display of magic, Shirou wondered why that was.

Shirou heard their feet shuffle as the started to charge towards him. If what Lancelot said was true there was no way to actually train him to fight multiple opponents without actually doing it, though he figured they should at least use training blades…

Gilbert came in from Shirou's left while Errol came in from the left. These men were used to fighting as a squad, working together to take down a single enemy. Their swords were raised to strike simultaneously at Shirou's sides. As they swung he retreated backwards, Gilbert and Errol's vertical strikes barely missed Shirou.

"Do not forget about me!" Somehow Tristan had ended up behind Shirou without his noticing and was now charging in from behind.

Shirou's mind was calm thanks to Lancelot's training and the previous battles he'd been in so far. It had sharpened his instincts and allowed him to think clearly in the heart of battle, even while outnumbered. Shirou pivoted on his ankle, twisting his body allowing himself to block Tristan's sword with Arondight in his right hand. The blades clashed together with a loud clang and sparks flew from the force of Tristan's strike.

"Oh? You are a quick learner, kid." Tristan grinned.

"What the hell are you doing trying to hit me so hard? What if that actually connected!?" Shirou exclaimed and pushed back against Tristan's sword.

"You probably would have died. Sir Lancelot DID tell us to be serious after all." Tristan replied and put both hands on his sword to allow himself to push harder.

Shirou wasn't surprised at all, up till now Lancelot's sword training had been merciless, but he did owe it to him for allowing Shirou to make progress so quickly. If he didn't learn quick… well they did train with real swords.

While Shirou was occupied with Tristan, it gave his other three opponents the opportunity to close in on him.

"Oh come on! I only have two hands!" Shirou disengaged from Tristan and dodged Lancelot's strike first which came for his chest. They weren't giving him any opportunity at all to counterattack or get them into a better position to defend better.

"You are not thinking fast enough. Do you not think a proper knight should be able to handle this much?" Errol came at Shirou with his sword raised.

It was true. Shirou had seen both Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere in action before. This wouldn't be a problem for either of them. Shirou wanted to be a knight now too, that meant he had to do what Lancelot said and learn.

Errol was aiming a stab at Shirou's stomach. He figured that now was the time to start taking this seriously, if they were prepared to hurt him then he should do the same. Lancelot and these 3 soldiers weren't teaching him how to run away but to fight. If he didn't fight, he would be insulting his teachers.

Since the blow was heading low that gave Shirou an idea. There would only be one shot, if he failed… well he wouldn't die since this was just training. As if in slow motion the tip of Errol's sword drew closer and Shirou stepped to the side. The blade grazed Shirou's armor leaving Errol wide open. He let go of both of his swords and as they fell towards the ground he grabbed Errol's arm. Shirou twisted his body and with all his strength heaved Errol's body over his shoulder and to the ground where he crumpled in a cloud of dust.

"Oof! Very good." Errol coughed upon hitting the ground. It didn't seem like he was hurt but he had the wind knocked out of him which was what Shirou was aiming for in the first place.

Unfortunately Errol had armor on, and flipping him over his shoulder caused Shirou's arms to tire out quickly. Turning around to locate his other three opponents, he found that they were all quickly closing in on him at once.

Shirou ducked under Lancelot's horizontal strike and was forced to roll to the side of Gilbert's. Before rising up from the ground Shirou took the opportunity to sweep Gilbert's legs out from under him and he toppled into the dirt face down. Shirou had to roll to the side to avoid Tristan's sword which was brought down quick.

Shirou leapt to his feet and projected another sword in each hand, preparing to finally make his attack at Tristan and Lancelot.

"That is enough." Lancelot raised his hand and lowered his sword.

Shirou heaved a sigh of relief and let the swords he projected fade away while walking across the field to retrieve his own and sheath it. He was worn out just from that, his arms felt like they were going to fall off.

"What is your opinion on his performance?" Lancelot turned to the three soldiers, Tristan helped Errol off the ground while Gilbert got up on his own, his face covered with dirt.

"I can certainly say he most likely will not be killed in his first battle." Tristan said after heaving Errol up off the ground.

"He can think on his feet very well, though his technique does need a bit of work." Errol nodded in agreement with Tristan. Gilbert silently nodded as well.

"Um guys… what's all this about?" Shirou asked, clueless to what was going on.

"Orders from the King, deliver them to Sir Bedivere." Lancelot dug into a pouch behind his back and produced a scroll of paper, holding it out.

Shirou took the scroll and unrolled it, holding it up into the sunlight. It was written on parchment to which Shirou was not used to touching. Its texture was smooth and unlike the normal paper he was used to.

_Sir Bedivere and Emiya Shirou,_

_The search for Morgana and her followers continues but they seem to be more wary of our actions as of late. We must discover their whereabouts as soon as possible and I am exhausting every possible measure to do so._

_I know that you wish to protect the people of this country so I am assigning you to join a battalion of the 7__th__ Legion for the time being. I have assigned them to minor peacekeeping tasks such as bandit slaying in areas throughout the kingdom. It is my hope that within their ranks Shirou will gain much needed combat experience as well as find some clues as to where the Witch Morgana is hiding._

_You will leave Camelot with an escort of three Legion soldiers to travel to their main camp and meet with their Commander who will instruct you further. I left the decision as to what squad you will be joining and the tasks you will be performing up to him._

_Good luck and Godspeed,_

_King Arthur Pendragon_

Shirou read the note for a moment and then looked back up at Tristan, Errol, and Gilbert. Obviously they weren't just sent here to spar with him, they were his escort as well. After he'd left the throne room, Arturia immediately disappeared as usual to do whatever it is she does when Shirou isn't around. It hadn't even been a couple of hours and he'd already been given orders to leave Camelot again. He heaved a sigh, he hoped he would have been able to stick around a bit longer. Lina and Elise had to leave after the ceremony as they weren't allowed in the castle so they weren't able to congratulate him in person yet.

"So if we are done here I would like to meet up with Sir Bedivere and get a move on." Tristan spoke up for the other two men who had been watching patiently as Shirou read the letter.

Shirou felt a bit sad to leave so soon, but this is the sort of thing he wanted to do. Keep the peace and prevent tragedy happening to the people of the country so they could all be happy. He raised his head and looked at the three soldiers before nodding.

"Alright, let's head out." Sir Bedivere would most likely be near the stables so he'd head there.

"Do not get yourself killed out there." Lancelot said as Shirou and the soldiers left him behind. They made their way back to the stables where Shirou and almost everyone else that spent a great deal of time at the castle kept their horses.

The unpleasant smell filled their noses before they even entered it but once entering Shirou saw a familiar sight that put his mind a little bit at ease.

Near the back there was a horse's pen opened with the horse's head sticking out. Outside of the pen was Sir Bedivere lovingly brushing the horse's mane as a mother would brush her child's hair. Her face held a faint smile as she was clearly enjoying herself caring for her mount's coat. With that smile on her face, she even looked more feminine than she normally did. Much like when the King smiled.

"Hail, Sir Bedivere!" Errol greeted her as the three soldiers entered the stable while Shirou found himself staring at the Knight.

"Greetings Sir Bedivere." Gilbert waved energetically.

Bedivere lifted her head as she was greeted and nodded at the soldiers. "Greetings, you are from the 7th Legion are you not?" Bedivere asked.

Tristan nodded. "Indeed, we are here to escort the two of you to meet our Commander."

It was then that Shirou stepped into the stable, finally snapped out of his stupor of staring at Bedivere. "It looks like we're being sent off again."

Bedivere's head perked up. "Orders from the King?"

Shirou nodded. "Yeah. We've even been assigned an escort." While he was speaking with Sir Bedivere, Errol, Tristan, and Gilbert retrieved their horses.

Bedivere frowned. "I am sure we do not need one."

Shirou shook his head. "We're going to meet their commander and help them out." He took out the letter from the King and handed it to Bedivere.

Bedivere's eyes drooped and she looked disappointed. "I see…" She heaved a small sigh. "Let us be on our way then." Bedivere turned her attention back to Shirou, offering him a small smile.

Shirou retrieved his horse and mounted him without any difficulty and grabbed the reins. "Take care of your leg, it still looks like it hurts."

"I will be fine, but I appreciate your concern." She replied as she mounted her horse.

The four of them rode to the gates of the castle town, chatting idly as they did so.

"You seem to get along very well with Sir Bedivere." Tristan said as they made their way down the long dirt hill leading into town.

"We've been through a lot since I got here…" Shirou said, recalling everything that had happened. Both of them had been wounded, had their ups and down, made discoveries about one another, and grown to like each other a great deal. Shirou would be lying if he said Bedivere wasn't becoming a special person to him.

"Speaking of which, you are not from here are you? Your face and way of speaking is very strange." Gilbert pointed out.

"Indeed. I heard that rumors that you fell out of the sky. Is that true?" Errol asked curiously.

"I guess from your point of view that's what happened." Shirou scratched the back of his head. "I'm not even sure yet how exactly it happened."

"If you are not from here, then where are you from?" Gilbert asked again.

Shirou heaved a sigh, he was getting tired of explaining it to everyone that asked. "A country way to the southeast on the ocean." He explained absentmindedly. By now they had made their way into the town. Shirou was met by all the villagers who greeted him warmly. Shirou didn't do anything but smile and wave back, each and every person he past greeted him. He wasn't used to so much attention and it was a bit jarring being the center of attention like that.

"How far is the camp from here?" Bedivere asked.

Once they were on the outskirts of town. Shirou took a look back half expecting to see Lina and Elise running after him to see him off, but they were nowhere in sight. He'd gotten so used to them doing this that it felt kind of empty without them, he had no way of telling them where he was going since he couldn't waste any more time than he already had.

"It is not too far, two or three hours at least." Tristan replied. Out of the three of these soldiers, Tristan seemed to be the one who was in charge. Shirou wasn't sure if it was because he was a higher rank, or had seen more battles but out of the three of them he seemed the one most likely to take charge of a situation.

"We just set up camp in the area a couple of days ago." Errol said absentmindedly.

"King Arthur is worried about something so he wants our camp close to Camelot. Do you know anything about it Sir Bedivere?" Gilbert asked.

Sir Bedivere shook her head. "I am afraid I don't know."

The familiar plains of the countryside now stretched out before them. Another beautiful English day was well under way and for the next couple of hours the foursome had little to do to pass the time but chat amongst themselves.

Upon talking with them Shirou learned that Gilbert and Errol had served with the 7th Legion for almost a year while Tristan had served for a lot longer and served as the Rear Guard Commander in times of war. Not only that, Tristan personally knew Captain Cardigan of the Royal Guard and had fought next to him when King Arthur defeated the Saxons. Shirou also learned that Gilbert had a wife and two children at home and that he joined the 7th Legion to protect them. Errol didn't reveal much about his circumstances for being in the Legion, but he seemed restless and eager to get back to the main camp.

The five of them started up a hill, as far as Shirou could tell they'd been traveling due northeast once again towards the Thames. The area they were in looked somewhat familiar as Shirou had just come from there almost five days ago. According to Tristan the camp should be right over the hill. It wasn't a large hill so they reached the top quickly.

Before Shirou now was a small city's worth of cloth tents set up in the grass. They dotted the plain grouped together in small amounts of five or so. Altogether though there has to be at least a couple hundred of them. Shirou had never before seen so many tents in one place before. Small fires dotted the area, their smoke pillars making their way towards the sky like grey tendrils.

"Ahh~ It is good to be back." Gilbert stretched his arms over his head as the four of them eased their horses into a trot and headed towards the camp.

Tristan's eyebrow twitched. "We have barely been gone a day…" He pointed out and then turned to Shirou. "Come, the Commander's tent is in the center."

Shirou nodded and followed them down the other side of the hill and towards the base camp. Once they entered Shirou saw quite a few soldiers sitting around those fires he saw from the hill not doing much of anything. Some were cooking, others were merely talking or playing games or instruments.

As they neared the center three men sitting around a campfire on makeshift wooden benches stood up and waved.

"Gilbert! Have you returned to lose more of your money?" Said a rather short man with freckles across the bridge of his nose. In his hand he absentmindedly twirled a small throwing knife about his fingers as if it were second nature to him. His lips curled into a toothy grin, though he had a baby face so it didn't exactly look threatening.

Gilbert laughed. "Perhaps later Judeau, I am on duty. Though next time it shall be me who takes your money." He replied with an equal grin.

"Haha, we shall see about that." Judeau chuckled.

A rather large man who was almost the size of Geoff scratched his head. "I wish you two would cut that out." He sighed.

"Save some food for me, I will join you after I am done here." Gilbert waved the three men off and continued towards the largest tent in the center.

The five of them dismounted and then pushed the cloth aside to enter the tent. Inside it was dimly lit by a candle on a large wooden table covered with many maps that had marks on them and X's slashed through certain towns. Shirou figured this tent was the command center and the figure in the center seemed to confirm it.

A man clad in armor with arms as thick as a tree trunk stood in the center examining the map. His dark hair was kept very sharp and his eyes…. that is to say eye was sternly glued to the map in front of him. He must have lost an eye in some battle as it was covered in an eye patch though across the entire left side of his face was a long scar.

"We have returned sir." Tristan saluted.

The man at the table raised his head. "Hm, welcome Sir Bedivere." His voice was deep and gruff like his throat was made out of sandpaper. "Who is this?" His eyes moved to Shirou.

"My squire, Shirou." Bedivere relied.

"Very well. My name is Brom, I lead these men." He stood up and extended a hand towards Sir Bedivere, who shook it.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Brom." She replied politely.

"Indeed." He let go of Bedivere's hand and turned to the three soldiers. "You three, consider yourselves off duty. Get out of here and get something to eat."

Gilbert and Errol left but Tristan stood up. "Is there anything you need from me Commander?" Tristan asked.

"No, but I am assigning Sir Bedivere to your patrol squad. With his help I should be able to send you into the more bandit heavy areas. There have been attacks to the north and I have not sent a squad there yet." He turned his attention to Shirou. "The King told me you wish to do some good and see action. I can assure you that you will have it." Brom replied ominously.

"When do you want us to leave?" Bedivere asked, eager to get out onto the field.

"I have prepared a tent for you, I shall show you where it is and give you some time to get settled in. You will leave with Tristan and his squad tomorrow." Brom instructed.

Shirou and Bedivere left with Brom and Tristan went his own way. It was strange being surrounded by so many soldiers. It was completely different than the guards at Camelot, these guys where real soldiers that had experience. They seemed itching for a battle where the guards at Camelot seemed content to stand around and bide their time. They eyed Shirou curiously, wary of the strange looking person.

It wasn't long before Brom showed Shirou and Bediver to their tent.

"I shall leave you to your business, should you need anything please speak with either Tristan or myself. The King instructed me not to treat you any differently than a normal soldier, however you are still a Knight." Brom said as he pushed aside cloth and opened the tent.

"Thank you." Bedivere replied and entered the tent with Shirou following behind her.

Brom left after that, leaving the two of them alone.

"We're sharing a tent?" Shirou looked around the place. Knowing what he knows about Sir Bedivere it made sharing the tent a little awkward.

"Is that a problem?" Bedivere asked. She seemed less concerned than Shirou. "We are going to have a long day tomorrow, get some rest." She suggested.

Shirou removed his armor and he felt at least 100 pounds lighter which probably wasn't too far from the truth. The armor didn't feel too heavy when he was wearing it, but after taking it off when he was tired made all the difference. He regretted not seeing Lina and Elise when he left Camelot, he should try to send a message to them somehow to let him know that he was alright. Shirou yawned and put his arms behind his head. Tomorrow he could very well be finding himself knee deep in bandits, but Shirou couldn't help but feel excited. He was finally going to do some good, these soldiers seemed friendly and welcoming, and Brom seemed like a good Commander.

Sir Bedivere carefully removed her armor as well, she wore loose clothing under it to hide her figure. It was the first time Shirou could recall actually seeing her undress.

"What?" She asked, noticing Shirou looking at her.

Shirou cleared his throat. "Nothing." He turned away from her. He took the bedroll from his pack and spread it out on the ground opposite of the end of Bedivere.


	25. On the Move

ACT XXV – On the Move

Several miles outside the borders of Camelot the main camp of the 7th Legion was starting to stir as the sun peeked over the horizon. The sun would soon disappear behind the clouds however as the day was looking to be overcast and the light cast a dreary grey upon the land. The morning dew clung to the grass, making the occasional squeak against an armored boot. It wasn't long before soldiers began pulling on their armor and exiting their tents, Emiya Shirou had slept soundly however this morning he was being prodded awake by a finger.

"Wake up, we will be leaving soon." Bedivere was sitting on the edge of Shirou's bed attempting to wake him.

Shirou awoke immediately and sat up. "It feels early." He yawned.

"It is. I hope you are well rested." Bedivere replied as she stood up. Shriou noticed she was already dressed and had her armor on.

"More or less." Shirou yawned and began to get dressed himself.

Pushing back the drape that kept their tent sealed from the elements for the most part, the two of them left the tent. It was larger than most, and had a rather comfortable cot in it. Knights he found, were practically treated like royalty. It was to be expected, many of them had accomplished deeds impossible to the normal man and were under direct control of Arturia herself, especially those of the Round Table.

"I am going to meet with the commander. I will meet you once we begin to move." Bedivere informed him. Just as Shirou was about to turn away she called his attention again.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Oh, by the way. Good morning, my squire." Bedivere smiled brightly.

He couldn't help but smile back. He gave her a proper bow. "Good morning, Sir Bedivere."

As Shirou stepped away from his tent he found himself watching Sir Bedivere make her way over towards Brom's tent. After a minute or so he was interrupted and was greeted by the short man with freckles he met the previous evening. Chance would have it that he was passing by and he noticed Shirou standing outside his tent.

"Good Morning. Are you prepared to ride out with us today?" He asked with a bright smile as a small bit of bacon hung from the corner of his mouth. His armor was not made of metal, but of very hard leather. He had many belts across his chest and waist which held in place many small knives which Shirou guessed were made for throwing. At his hip he also had a short sword about two feet in length.

Shirou nodded. "I'm all set, I'd like to get something to eat before we head out though." Shirou recalled the man's name was Judeau.

"Of course, I thought I saw some of the men cooking something up on my way back here. I wanted to talk to the commander about something before we all mounted up." Judeau pointed the direction he was heading.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Shirou could smell something, most likely meat being cooked in the direction Judeau came from. Considering his new status the men would probably be overjoyed if he were to sit down at eat with them.

"I'd hurry up though, Commander Brom wanted to address the men this morning." Judeau gave him a wave and then headed off. Unlike the rest of the men Shirou met that were all uptight about his presence there, Judeau seemed to be much more laid back and casual about the whole thing.

Once Shirou's belly growled and urged him onward, he turned into the direction of the smell and began to make his way across the camp. He still wasn't used to not being able to cook, he would give anything to have his kitchen back. Perhaps if he was really nice to the King, she might let him use the one in the castle. Surely they had at least some place to prepare the royal meals. Granted it wouldn't have a stove or an oven so Shirou would have to improvise a little.

After a minute or so he came across a group of four men huddling over a campfire near a cluster of tents. Three of them he recognized as Errol, Tristan, and Gilbert.

"Morning guys. Mind if I join you?" Shirou asked, trying to be as casual as he could. The men nearly jumped out of their seats when they saw him, they went wide eyed, clearly embarrassed by not noticing his approach.

"""Not at all, sit down!""" They exclaimed nearly in unison.

Shirou unbuckled the leather straps on his gauntlets and removed them. He sat in the circle with them casually and looked at fire they were all huddled over. There were several strips of bacon sizzling over a pan that had been placed over the fire.

"Shirou have you seen Judeau this morning?" Gilbert asked curiously as he flipped over a piece of meat with his sword.

"Yeah just now, why?" Shirou tilted his head.

"The little bugger pilfered some of our meat. He's got quick hands." Errol replied with a low growl.

"We do not get more supplies until this evening, so things are starting to run low. You can imagine this makes the men a little… uneasy." Tristan took a knife from behind his back and jabbed a bit of meat and lifted it away from the hot pan. He stared at it, turning the blade over and over as if it would make the food cool down faster.

"Right out of the pot… just grabbed it. How in the blazes does he do that?" Gilbert said with much frustration.

Shirou shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he's a witch." He joked.

All three men turned to him as if seriously considering it. ""Nah."" They said in unison.

They had a good laugh about it and ate together, making sure everyone had enough to eat. Shirou was introduced to the other man at the fire, Roland, a man from the south near the port town where the King spent her childhood.

"You actually knew the King when he was young?" Shirou sputtered, almost spitting his food everywhere.

"More or less." Roland shrugged. "I was not among his friends, but I have heard of him many times and often saw him."

"What was he like." Shirou asked with much interest.

"The King has not changed at all. Even from a young age he wished to be a knight, to me it is not the least bit surprising that young Arthur was the one to pull out that sword." Roland said casually as he shoveled an entire piece of bacon into his mouth. "He was always trying to find some knight that would allow him to be his squire."

"Since you've known him for that long, what's your opinion of him as a King?" Shirou asked.

Roland thought for a moment before replying with utmost sincerity. "I would follow the King to the gates of Hell itself, which is of course why I'm here with the Legion. Am I right boys?" He looked up at Tristan, Errol, and Gilbert.

"Aye! Long live the King!" They shouted in answer.

"That being said, I believe he over works himself quite often." Roland shrugs.

"You're not the first person to say that, believe me." Shirou mumbled and took another piece of meat.

After breakfast a horn sounded ending their breakfast and signaling to the men that it was time to gather in front of the captain's tent. As Shirou and the others began migrating toward the opposite end of the camp, it dawned on Shirou just how many men were here. Most of them were in full armor, or at least pulling it on as they jogged at a brisk pace across the camp. Shirou passed men stuffing food in their mouth and putting out fires they used to cook their food. There were at least a hundred and fifty men at this encampment, just a small fragment of the entire 7th Legion forces that were positioned throughout the land.

Shirou was pushed towards the front of the congregation by the rest of the men gathered before Brom's tent. The chattering and thundering of feet now stood silent and at attention as Brom stepped from the tent, his hand resting on the pommel of the sword at his hip. Bedivere followed Brom out of the command tent and rejoined Shirou's side.

"Good morning you sorry lot!" Brom bellowed as the morning breeze lightly ruffled his shoulder length hair.

"Sir!" The men saluted.

"At ease, Legion!" Brom commanded and the men slightly relaxed their shoulders, the camp alive with sounds of men shuffling about in armor.

"Since the end of the war with the Saxons we have been doing one thing. Keeping our lands safe from any scum that dare show their faces! That is our job. Our business. Today, business is good!" Shirou listened to the early morning pep talk, somehow listening to a rugged man yell about justice and battle set his heart on fire. Shirou never saw himself as the type that yearned for battle, but after listening to Brom for only a few moments made him eager to get out into the field and do some good for the land.

He remembered the sight he saw with Bedivere and the carnage the bandits afflicted on that defenseless farming village. He remembered the story that Lina told him about how her parents were killed. He wanted to prevent that from happening. They can't be reasoned or bargained with, all they seek is to steal and murder everything in their path for their own selfish reasons. If extermination was the only way to deal with them, then as an aspiring knight, Shirou couldn't allow them to plunder any more villages.

"There are a rather nasty group of bandits that have been plaguing our lands far too long. They call themselves The Blackguard and we've received word that they're on the move." Brom paced back and forth as he spoke. "These are not your normal mindless rabble, their leader seems to be very well versed in the ways of war and leads his raiding parties accordingly. They are a danger to anyone and everyone they meet, and they cannot be allowed to roam our beloved country any longer!" Brom spoke loudly and clearly, tucking his helmet under his right arm.

"We will not be alone however, the King has sent to us a Knight to aid us in the extermination of The Blackguard. He will be joining our ranks for this assignment." Brom pointed at Sir Bedivere The men cheered wildly, raising their weapons high into the air.

"Gather your belongings, we ride!" Brom boomed and the men answered in kind with another thunderous cheer.

()()()

It didn't take the 7th Legion long to be ready to move. Tents were disassembled, fires put out, and horses packed up. Soon the 150 man squad of the army was on the move across the rolling hills of England. Shirou never tired of the sight of the wind blowing the grass, creating an effect similar to ripples on water. He was also getting used to riding his horse and his legs no longer started to burn after only riding a few minutes. In fact the slow, methodical movements of Hikari and the sound of his hooves trotting over dirt and grass seemed rather relaxing.

The men rode in formation, by rank Shirou assumed. As such Sir Bedivere and Shirou were positioned at the front of the pack next to Brom and in front of Tristan, Errol, and Gilbert who were directly behind them. It was strange to him to look behind him and see a small army.

"I'm not used to so much attention. All this saluting and formal talking is driving me crazy." Shirou whispered to Sir Bedivere as he ran an armored hand through his hair.

"You will get used to it. If you wish to become a knight, expect this kind of attention." Bedivere replied.

"If I become gravely injured, the men will no doubt look to you for guidance." Brom looked at Bedivere as he scratched his chin. "I'm thankful for your presence."

"If all goes well, I won't have to." Bedivere replied.

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, is one of my favorite sayings." Brom looked forward and continued to ride. He was right. Anything could happen, Shirou hung on those words.

Without realizing it, Shirou found himself staring at Brom's eye patch that covered his left eye.

"I was but a young soldier when it happened." Brom noticed Shirou looking out of the corner of his good eye. "The shield I was given had a flaw on it, it practically splintered when I held it. Now that I recall it was my very first battle, I was frightened and inexperienced." Brom chuckled. "The archers loosed their first volley of arrows and one of them went straight through my shield. I was lucky all I lost was an eye." He turned his head over towards Shirou. "Not quite the extraordinary tale you were hoping for was it?"

"They gave you a flawed shield?" Shirou asked in astonishment.

"We were at war, it was better than having nothing to defend yourself with at all." Brom replied. "Now it is time that I ask you a question. I know that you are able to create weapons out of the air, how did you come by this sorcery? In all my years I have never heard of such a thing."

"My old man taught me before he died. I could never seem to do it right until I came here though. I assume its Merlin's and Sir Lancelot's instruction that's let me nearly master it." Shirou looked down at his hand. He hadn't had time to think about it but it did seem odd. He'd never truly succeeded in strengthening magic back home, but since Merlin told him about projection magic and the proper method its been starting to become a lot easier.

"So where exactly are we going? I don't remember you mentioning it before we left." Shirou asked in sudden realization.

"The Dark Forest." Brom replied ominously. The very words seem to bring about tension within the hearts of all who were in earshot.

"Sir, forgive my intrusion, but is that also the forest they call the Haunted Wood?" Gilbert had been leaning forward, obviously eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Indeed that is where we are going." Brom answered with a nod.

"A haunted forest?" Shirou tilted his head.

"It is just superstition I believe." Tristan said, riding up closer to Gilbert.

"I agree with you. The forest is indeed old and I have no doubt it has its strange goings on, but the rumor claiming it is haunted only appeared within the last couple of years." Brom replied.

"It does indeed sound like nonsense." Bedivere seemed to drift into thought.

"Why exactly are people saying it's haunted?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Strange noises have been heard from along its borders, noises that others claim are the bones of those long dead. There is also the fact that whoever enters the forest is never heard from again." Gilbert reported.

"A fitting cover to hide a group of bandits for an extended period of time." Tristan said matter of factly.

"Either way we shall enter the forest because that is where the Blackguard is believed to have its stronghold." Brom returned his gaze to the plains ahead.

"What can we expect from the bandits themselves?" Shirou asked.

"As I said before, they are not by any means a mindless rabble. Their raids are quick. They hit hard, and escape faster." Brom turned his gaze towards Shirou. "Do you recall the razing of the farming village near Camelot?"

Shirou nodded. It was where he'd killed his first man and saw the carnage left in the bandits' wake. He could still recall the smell and heat of the smoldering fires as he and Bedivere entered that village. The smell of ash and burning flesh permeated the air. It reminded him of the fire that claimed his family and nearly himself, just remembering it nearly made him sick.

"We have recently learned that was the work of the Blackguard bandits." Brom reported.

Shirou tightly gripped the reins of his horse, his fingernails digging deep into his palms. If what Brom said was true, then he had some idea of how the bandits would fight. Hopefully it would come in handy.

"We know little of their fighting tactics since we have never managed to catch them, but their raiding parties are unmistakable." Brom continued. "They leave no one and nothing alive in their path, they must be stopped for the good of all Britannia."

"In that case, I'm glad I have the privilege to be along to help." Shirou replied.

"A knight and Merlin's apprentice. How can we lose?" Gilbert grinned widely and clapped Shirou hard on the back.


	26. The Haunted Wood

ACT XXVI – The Haunted Wood

It had been two days since the 7th Legion set forth from their camp towards the Dark Forest. It was mostly peaceful traveling. Every night they stopped to make camp wine was drank, songs were sung, and stories were told. The only one who looked out of place was the Knight and the squire in the shining silver armor. He didn't know the songs they sung, never heard of the ancient kings and warriors in the stories, though he did talk with Bedivere as much as possible.

Shirou yawned as the Legion began their third day of riding. It was just passed noon but from what he'd heard they would near the edge of the forest very soon, needless to say it had a lot of the men on the edge. For good reason, too. The wall of trees before them seemed to tower overhead when they grew close and the trees grew close together and the very light around them seem to dim to a pale color. Wind whistled through the trees and the leaves on the trees shook loudly.

"It is certainly as ominous as the rumors claim." Bedivere craned her neck upward.

"Once you go into that forest, you never come back." One of the men said.

"That ain't right. You'll be seen again for sure, only as a ghost, your soul forever lost to the wood. What do you think them noises are people tell stories about? It's the bones of the dead it is." Another replied.

"Enough, are you milk drinkers scared of a few dead people?" Brom barked at them.

They shook their heads. "Course not sir, considering it's our job to make dead people, but I don't trust anything that I can't cut with me sword."

Shirou groaned and leaned forward on his horse's neck for a rest.

"How can you still be tired? You went to bed shortly before I did." Bedivere cast a glance over at Shirou.

Shirou pried himself up. "I've been having trouble since we left Camelot." He replied drowsily.

"You had better get yourself together soon. You are going to need your guard in there." Brom said.

Bedivere nodded in agreement. "He is right."

Shirou slapped his cheeks a couple times to wake himself back up again. "Yes sir. I can't impress the other knights if I fall asleep on my first mission."

"Tell me of the other knights. What are they like? You have met them have you not?" Brom asked.

Shirou scratched his head as he tried to think. "Sir Gawain and Sir Lancelot seem to get along. Sir Bedivere is the quiet type, Sir Galahad is between Gawain and Lancelot trying to keep the peace…"

"What about the King?"

"The King didn't talk much, he just seemed to be happy that everyone else was happy." Shirou replied.

"That certainly sounds like the King." Gilbert responded from behind Shirou and Brom.

"That is enough talk for now. We are getting close." Brom ordered silence.

From that point on the squad of the Legion went silent as orders. The only sounds that could be heard the bending of the grass under the horse's feet and the clanking of armor. The forest was in sight. Old moss covered trees surrounded the edge. The trees grew close together and the wind whistled eerily between the trees, rustling the leaves and branches. The closer they got the colder the air seemed to get and both man and horse became uneasy. Even Hikari seemed on edge and Shirou had to push him to keep going forward.

"Is that it?" Shirou asked after Brom ordered the men to halt.

Brom nodded and turned around to address his men. "Dismount! We go on foot from here!" He barked.

Groans and complaints rose up from most of the men but they obeyed the order just the same. The prospect of going into a haunted forest that made the very air around it grow cold was not an inviting one. It took just a few minutes to tie the horses to the trees so they wouldn't run off, the horses, it seems were also not thrilled of being close to the forest. They resisted and reared, making them difficult to tie ropes around their reins.

"Sir the horses…" Tristan approached Brom and Shirou with a worried expression.

"They are warhorses, bred for our use. They may be afraid now, but they'll get over it. Just as you will." Brom replied.

"Right, Sir." Tristan saluted. After that the men lined up and prepared to enter the forest, albeit unwillingly.

"We have to go in there… right?" Stepping into formation, though barely seen because he was so short, was Judeau.

A gust of wind whistled through the trees making an eerie moaning noise like the wails of the dead. The horses reared up, men shivered, and even Brom gripped at his sword.

"Alright, let's go find those bandits. The sooner we destroy them the sooner we can leave." Brom ordered.

Gilbert and Judeau stepped closer to Bedivere. "We'll stay near you if you don't mind Sir Knight."

The men drew their swords and began to enter the forest. As they passed through the tree line the temperature in the air seemed to drop to near freezing. Shirou could see his breath as he breathed. He was beginning to think this place really was haunted. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his arms filled with goosebumps.

"There's definitely something in here." Shirou drew Merlin's sword from his hip.

Gilbert shrugged. "'Course there is. Wolves, bandits, wild boar, ghosts."

Shirou scratched his head. "I don't know about this whole ghost business." He said looking around at the trees. They were old, bark peeled off at the touch and the trunks were nearly covered in moss. Something Merlin said to him was ringing in his head.

"_More often than not, things are not as people believe them to be."_

"Quiet, all of you." Bedivere hissed as she attempted to listen to the forest for signs of danger.

Something was certainly odd here, and it wasn't ghosts. As the men trudged through the forest, scared of the ghosts they'd never seen, Shirou took the opportunity to search the area for any kind of magical influence. Another gust of wind rustled through the trees, bringing with it the sound of bones and chains rattling together.

Brom held up a hand, motioning silently for the men of the Legion to hold their positions. The sound of footsteps stopped and blades were slowly drawn. Eyes turned in every direction in the dark, though darkness seemed to impede their vision after about fifteen yards. The soldiers were afraid to speak, afraid of revealing their positions to some horror lurking in the dark.

The noise Shirou heard seemed to be coming from up in the trees, right above their heads so he craned his neck upwards. He thought he spied something white and metallic hanging in the branches. It was too far to reach so he tapped Judeau on the shoulder.

Judeau jumped when Shirou jabbed him with his finger and quickly turned his head. "What?" He whispered.

Shirou directed his attention and pointed towards the branch in question. "Can you throw a knife and cut that down?"

Judeau looked confused. "Of course, but what good will that do?" He reached into his vest and grabbed one of the knives, holding it by the blade between his fingers.

"Just do it." Shirou said impatiently.

Judeau shrugged and with a flick of his wrist tossed the knife in his hand. With nearly no sound at all it cut through the air and the exact branch Shirou pointed at. It fell to the ground with the sound of bones and chains and hit the ground with a thud.

"What are you doing?" Gilbert asked as Shirou walked over and picked up the branch.

Dangling off of it was a string of rope, attached to it were several human leg bones and a couple short chain links. Shirou lopped off the rope with his sword and held it up.

Bedivere took notice of what Shirou was doing and approached, Shirou held up the object. "It is as I thought." Bedivere did not touch the object, but nodded at Shirou.

"What in God's name is that?" Tristan asked.

"Your so called ghosts." Shirou replied as he shook the object, causing it to replicate the noise they'd been hearing for the past hour or so. He tossed the object to the ground in front of everyone.

Brom stepped forward to get a closer look at it. "I see, the bandits spread the rumors then hung these in the trees and when the wind blew through the trees it made those horrible sounds." He scratched his beard. "Clever."

"Not bad, boy." Brom patted Shirou on the shoulders and then turned behind him.

"Do you see? There are no ghosts here! Our Knight has shown the trickery of our enemies for what it is! Now with nothing to fear we may press onward, the Blackguard awaits it's own demise!" Brom shouted, rallying the men in a commanding voice.

A cry erupted from the once quiet forest as the men's fears were pushed aside and their courage restored to what it once was. Though the air was still cold, the fear of long dead horrors in the dark was gone. The men stood to their feet and began walking once more.

"Do you have any idea where the hideout is?" Shirou asked Brom after about ten minutes of walking.

"In the center of the forest. They always attack from horseback so there has to be a trail they use around here, it would be large enough to move men, horses, and supplies." Brom replied.

"Then why did we enter the forest from way, Sir?" Gilbert asked. "Would it not have been easier to find the trail from the outside?"

Brom shook his head. "To avoid an ambush of course."

"We have over 150 men, why are you worried about a bandit ambush?" Tristan asked.

"Did you not hear me say that these are not your typical bandits? You should learn to stay silent and trust the words of your Commander." Brom growled. Clearly getting a bit annoyed.

"Yes, Sir. Forgive me." Tristan replied.

Another half hour was spent walking through the forest. Nothing remarkable happened but while the rest of the men mindlessly walked forward, Shirou took the time to enjoy the scenery. There weren't a lot of forests in Japan. Certainly not like this one anyway. The ground was covered in fallen leaves, they were wet and did not make a lot of noise when stepped on. It almost looked like the entire forest was carpeted in leaves of varying colors from green to orange. Overhead the sky could barely be seen among the branches. Very rarely a ray of sunlight would bleed through the canopy to illuminate a small circle on the ground.

Shirou was snapped out of sightseeing mode when he felt a hard substance under his boots. It wasn't soft and springy like the leaves and grass, but rather hard and dusty. He looked down and saw that he was standing in a worn dirt path. It was about five yards wide, small, but still large to move whatever was needed through it. The trees had been completely torn out, roots and all, what remained was a path through the forest. On either side the trees were just as thick so as not to ruin the forest's beauty.

When they found the path Brom pointed them in the direction they needed to be and ordered everyone to draw their arms. From his hip, Shirou drew his sword. Further up along the path they spotted banners hanging in the trees and Brom ordered the men to halt their movements while he motioned for Bedivere to follow him. They walked over to the first banner in the row and Brom stood there and studied it for a minute.

"What is it?" Asked Bedivere as she too began to study the banner.

"I have never seen this coat of arms before." Brom replied, still looking curiously up at the banner.

The banner itself was quite plain. The coat of arms in question depicted jet black shield with the head of a dragon emblazoned in the middle. The background a solid green.

"I've never heard of bandits using any kind of banner before. They normally mark their territories with some kind of symbol or calling card, but this is new to me." Bedivere bit her lip as she thought.

"That is because they don't, Sir Bedivere." Brom replied.

"What do you think it means?" Bedivere asked.

"I have no idea. For now we should focus on why we came here in the first place." Brom whistled and turned back towards his soldiers who acknowledged the signal to move on.

Bedivere nodded in agreement and waited for the rest of the men to catch up before continuing the march along the path. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to find Gilbert, Tristan, and Judeau behind him.

"What did the Commander have to say?" Gilbert asked curiously.

Shirou pointed to the rows of banners on the trees lining the pathway. "The bandits have adopted a coat of arms. One the commander has never seen before."

"Nonsense. Bandits do not use coats of arms." Tristan scoffed.

"That's what I'm worried about." Replied Bedivere ominously.

"Shh!" Brom hushed and motioned for the men to stop by holding up his hand. No one made a sound and the forest was deathly silent except for the occasional noise of the trees. Brom's eyes flicked in all directions and his hand went to his sword. He was listening.

Noticing this and the tension that began to form the men turned to high alert. All talking stopped and no one moved. Unfortunately their vision was blocked by the darkness in the trees even though the path they were on was lit by the sun overhead. The hairs on the back of Shirou's neck stood on end and he could practically feel his senses sharpening to detect any danger.

In that moment he heard the noise of a horse and the familiar sound of a bow being drawn. The string groaned as it was drawn, making a telltale noise that was impossible to mistake for anything else.

"Attack! We're under attack!" Shirou shouted and pointed his sword towards the direction the noise came from.

The men that had shields readied them as the first volley of arrows came from the darkness and battered against the raised shields like rain on an umbrella. From within the dark of the forest cries of men were heard and the sound of their boots on the ground came forth like thunder.

"Form lines! Time to earn our pay boys!" Brom roared and drew his sword from his hip.

Next to Shirou, Bedivere calmly drew her sword and stood next to Shirou's side.

The men hustled quickly to form two deep lines that took up most of the path. Just as they had finished forming the enemy began to burst forth from the darkness and jump into the light of the path. The enemy soldiers were armored mostly in leather with the strange coat of arms on their chests.

Shirou and Sir Bedivere stood in the vanguard, the front lines as the lines of the Legion and the enemy collided. They came out of nowhere and if Shirou hadn't heard that first bow being drawn then they surely would have been ambushed and had no time to prepare for the attack. Shirou's vision became a blur and he didn't even remember cutting down the first man. His ears rang with the sounds of the men yelling, the screams of the wounded, and the sound of steel on steel.

Another volley of arrows was loosed from the darkness and he heard the screams as a few of the Legion were hit and went down. What was waiting for them in there Shirou did not know, but something had to be done about them. The archers could obviously see out of the pitch black murk even though the others couldn't see in. Whether it was some kind of spell or simply the forest Shirou did not know. Brom was busy commanding the men and barking orders while fending off the enemy soldiers so the task fell to Sir Bedivere and Shirou.

It was near impossible to find anyone in the chaos that had erupted. A man ran towards Shirou with his sword over his head. His eyes burned like fire and his teeth were bared like some wild animal. He wore a hood over his head and he was a scruffy looking man, a stereotypical bandit save for the armor he wore. His blade swung downward but he was predictable, Shirou's training with Sir Lancelot paid off as he was easily able to sidestep the man's swing and then step forward impaling the soldier on his sword.

The man screamed and blood flowed from his mouth and from the wound in his gut. Shirou pulled out his sword and the man crumpled to the ground.

"Judeau!" Shirou called. If he was going to take out the archers he'd need some help. Who better than Judeau and his impressive aim with his throwing knives?

Shirou was so enthralled with looking into the madness to find his friends he didn't even see the soldier coming up from behind him. By the time Shirou turned around it was too late and the man fell into him. Shirou tensed up, expecting to feel the cold steel pass through his armor but the man fell limp against him, a small dagger protruding from his back.

"You called?" Judeau stood behind the man clutching three daggers in between his fingers on each hand.

"Those archers are going to tear us apart! Help me find Gilbert and Tristan!" Shirou called amidst the men shouting.

Judeau nodded. "Got it." He ran off into the middle of the battle, sliding between an enemy soldier's legs and cutting his ankles with his daggers on his way through. After that he disappeared.

"What are you doing?" Bedivere asked as she cut down a soldier.

"I've got a plan, leave it to me." Shirou replied proudly.

"Very well, but be careful."

It didn't take long for Judeau to appear with the other two in tow. Both had blood splattered on them that was not their own, their swords as well had been soiled.

"Good you're here. We're going to flank those archers in the forest, without them the rest of the men will have an easier time winning this fight." Shirou pointed towards the darkness where the arrows were coming from.

"I agree, not everyone has a shield, we will suffer many losses if something is not done soon." Tristan said with a nod. He sheathed his sword and drew forth a bow from his back.

"Let's hurry up then!" Gilbert urged them onward.

Shirou led the men through the enemy's ranks, he didn't have time to think about the men he was killing along the way. There was only the fact that he wanted to save his friends that were under attack. Another volley of arrows came from the forest, and an arrow caught Shirou in the shoulder. Luckily his armor protected him for the most part so the wound was not bad, but it still hurt, he felt a hot liquid like fire start to ooze from his shoulder. He grit his teeth and bared the pain. He was a sword, a sword doesn't have the time to feel pain. A sword made of steel.

_Steel is my body, and fire is my blood._

A man in front of him was shot between the eyes with an arrow that came from behind him, most likely Tristan. The four of them continued to run towards the forest, the darkness growing ever closer. As they reached the treeline Shirou, Tristan, Judeau, and Gilbert plunged in without a second thought. They seemed to pass through the darkness but once inside it seemed no darker than the rest of the forest. Inside they were easily able to spot the archers, being commanded by a man on a black horse.

"Loose! Kill those dogs!" The large man on horseback commanded and the archers fired another volley through the trees and into the battle.

"Go! Before they can fire another arrow!" Shirou commanded and he began to rush towards them knowing the others were right behind him. Arrows from Tristan's bow and knives from Judeau whizzed passed him, taking out a few of the archers. From the looks of it there were maybe fifteen, however Shirou and the rest had the element of surprise. Judeau and Tristan would support them from the back as Gilbert joined Shirou on the front lines. Gilbert was one of the lucky men with a shield so he would be an asset in the next fight.

Nearby, Shirou saw Sir Bedivere doing her best to defend Commander Brom, any enemy that dared approached them was quickly cut down by either her or Brom himself, who was no slouch with a sword either.

The archers having been alerted to their presence now turned their attention to Shirou and his small squad. "Trace, on!" Shirou roared and projected Arondight in his free hand. Gilbert had caught up to him and raised his shield to guard for incoming arrows.

Two more men were taken down by the rapid firing of Tristan's arrows before Shirou and Gilbert got them within range of their swords. Feeling the familiar burst of power from gripping Arondight, Shirou became a whirlwind of flashing blades as he collided with the line of archers. Faced with a surprise attack the archers had no chance against an enemy in close range. One of the archers managed to throw down his bow and draw his sword, but was quickly bashed in the face with Gilbert's shield and swiftly cut down.

From the back Tristan and Judeau finished off the remainder of the archers as the commander on the black horse fled into the forest during the fight. Gilbert started to run after him but was immediately stopped by Shirou.

"Let him go, someone will catch him later. We have to get back and help the others."

Gilbert nodded and the four of them left the forest and rejoined the front lines. This time the four of them flanked the remainder of the Blackguard's men. The attack on both sides caused the bandits to become confused, making it easier for the Legion to dispatch the rest of them.

After the battle Shirou's adrenaline wore off and he was able to look at what was left of the battle on the ground. Blackguard soldiers littered the pathway, at least fifty men not counting the archers in the forest lay bleeding on the ground which was now saturated with blood and gore. The battle was mostly a blur to Shirou, completely different from the fights he'd had so far. He grabbed the arrow shaft sticking out of his shoulder and winced with pain before gritting his teeth and pulling it out.

"Gah!" He gasped as he felt his flesh tear. He threw the arrow to the ground, feeling fresh warm blood trickle down on the inside of his armor. He panted with exhaustion that now caught up with him, sweat drenched his brow and his once shining silver gauntlets were caked in blood. The air smelled of blood and death, nearly enough to make Shirou loose what little food he had within his stomach.

"Are you alright?" Tristan asked Shirou with a rather worried look on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Shirou replied and walked lazily over to the nearest Blackguard soldier. Shirou took his sword and cut the man's armor free to take back to Camelot. If anyone knew anything about the coat of arms, the King or Merlin might.

Shirou saw Sir Bedivere talking with Brom a little ways off. She didn't look happy, nor did Brom.

"-completely foolish of you to invade enemy territory without being more careful." Bedivere said quietly.

"What I chose to do with my men is my own decision. My scouts knew they were here, our only option was to invade quickly to catch them unaware." Brom replied. The argument was made quietly, as Bedivere did not wish to undermine the commander loudly in front of his men.

"They knew we were coming anyway, and their leader fled as well." Bedivere continued.

"We thrashed them soundly, Sir Knight. I still fail to see what your complaint is about." Brom replied calmly.

"How many men did we lose?" Shirou asked.

"30 or so, I would guess." Brom replied solemnly. "Would have lost more if it weren't for you. This wood is something foul. Never would have guessed men would come out of that strange darkness."

Shirou looked down at the armor he clutched in his hand. "I need to go back to Camelot. Someone there must know more about this."

Bedivere nodded in agreement as she saw what Shirou clutched. "I agree, this bears immediate investigation."

Brom turned back to his men. "Alright you lot, those Blackguard bastards came from within this forest. Find their camp." He pointed to Tristan and Gilbert. "You two, take this path and exit the forest, find our horses and bring them back. With any luck we can camp here tonight."

""Sir!"" Tristan and Gilbert saluted and then set off at a jog down the path in the direction they came from.

Shirou went and sat down on the ground with his back against a tree. He stared up through the trees at the sky. It was nearing evening, only a few more hours of sunlight. Members of the Legion began to make their way down the path from where they were ambushed which the Brom, Shirou, Judeau and about 40 other men waited for Tristan and Gilbert to get back with the horses.

It had been Shirou's first real battle and he was surprised at how well he took it. He'd commanded men. Albeit only three men, but he still took initiative over a situation. He never expected to be that clear headed, let alone find himself in a battle like that at all. By all rights he should still be in school, not fighting as a knight's squire. But he had gotten used to it; it was getting easier by the day. He had people he cared about here, which was his whole reason for getting involved in all of this.

He looked at the coat of arms on the piece of armor he picked up. If Brom, a man who made a career out of killing bandits didn't know anything then Shirou had absolutely no hope at all. Something clicked on in his head, something Morgana and Mordred talked about during his capture. Mordred wants the throne, and Morgana clearly seems to be supporting him. But why? Why was Shirou thinking about this now? Was there a connection between Mordred and the Blackguard bandits? Shirou had so many questions and it was clear that he had to ride back to Camelot as soon as possible to get a chance at any answers.


	27. A Grim Discovery

ACT XXVII – A Grim Discovery

After a short rest and an even shorter ride along the forest path Shirou, Bedivere and the Legion found the Blackguard camp and immediately secured it. The few guards left behind were quickly eliminated after a short and pointless battle. Brom ordered one kept alive to be interrogated.

The Blackguard camp looked like it had taken some time to set up. It was less of a camp and more of a forest stronghold. Large wooden walls surrounded the outside and were at least 15 feet high with a gate on each wall. Inside the walls were 2 elongated buildings that looked like barracks. Next to the barracks were several smaller buildings and a stable for horses.

"This is some setup they have in here." Shirou said as he looked around. This wasn't something that was set up quickly. A lot of people had to spend time building all this. It almost looked like a small town or outpost.

"It would seem they have been here for some time." Bedivere replied.

"Do you think they left any loot here for us?" Judeau asked with a grin after the camp had been taken over and the horses were put in the stables.

"I would not count on it." From the back of the compound came Tristan and Gilbert. Tristan had his bow on his back and Gilbert's shield was hung over his shoulder.

Gilbert nodded. "They have probably moved it somewhere else."

"Where's Brom?" Shirou asked.

"Interrogating our prisoner I believe." Tristan replied. "He asked that he not be disturbed."

Bedivere scratched her chin. "I wished to see him before I left tomorrow."

"Get that taken care of." Tristan pointed to the hole in Shirou's armor where he'd been hit with an arrow in the shoulder.

"I guess I don't have much choice right now." He hated to admit it but he was tired. It had been a long day and a longer battle. The act of killing those bandits still heavy on his mind. He knew they needed to be wiped out, but that didn't make running someone through with his sword any easier.

Entering one of the barracks Shirou with Bedivere following behind, he found 2 rows of cots. He was the only one here so far, most of the Legion was probably out working or patrolling the area. Shirou began to unfasten the belts on his armor and remove it, starting with his gauntlets and boots. It felt good to have them off. On his tunic he had a spot of blood on his shoulder where the arrow penetrated his flesh. It was still bleeding slightly and the entry wound looked mangled from the arrowhead, almost like it was serrated. Shirou touched the wound and pain seared through his shoulder, causing him to flinch.

"That looks worse than I thought. I guess antiseptic is out of the question." He sighed.

"Just sit there, I will take care of it." Bedivere said after looking him over.

"There isn't much to work with here." Shirou replied, looking around the room for some kind of medical equipment.

"Leave it to me, as your knight I am responsible for you. Now, let me see." Bedivere sat next to Shirou on the cot. Bedivere placed a hand on his shoulder and moved closer. "I can't see it very well, the fabric is too torn."

After hesitating for a second, Shirou removed his shirt. Bedivere once again placed a hand on his shoulder, with the other one on his chest. She moved closer to examine the wound, Shirou could feel her breath on his chest he could feel goosebumps starting to form on his body. Then the pain hit him as Bedivere pulled on his skin to widen the hole in his shoulder.

"Ow! What are you doing that for?"

"I need to see if any of the arrowhead is still inside, however it looks as if you pulled it out intact. This looks horrible, it is all torn up." Bedivere replied.

"The arrowhead looked serrated." Shirou reported.

"Hmph, how barbaric." Bedivere huffed. She looked around for a moment and then drew her knife, she cut some of the sheets on the bed into long, thing strips and began wrapping it around Shirou's shoulder.

"I am thankful that this was your only injury. Why is it that you are always being filled with arrows?" She asked as she tied off the first layer of bandages.

"When I find out I'll be sure to let you know." Shirou winced as Bedivere tightened the knot.

He'd been shot before, but the wound never looked quite like this before. Shirou could only hope that it would heal quickly and not get infected. Unfortunately the time period he was in didn't allow for proper medical attention. Getting wounded too badly would most likely involve in an amputation. That was something he'd love to avoid.

"There, that should suffice." Bedivere finished bandaging Shirou's shoulder.

Shirou soon got used to Bedivere touching him and wasn't as concerned about it as he was before. He'd gotten very comfortable with her around, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "Thank you." Shirou thanked her warmly.

Bedivere merely smiled back. "We are squire and knight. We must take care of one another." She said as she stood up off of the bed. "You must stay and rest, I am going to talk to the prisoner." Bedivere said, before turning and leaving the barracks.

Brom didn't want to be disturbed, but maybe the prisoner had said something interesting. Bedivere's curiosity was piqued, maybe he'd said something about the emblem they were using. she pulled one of the guards aside, who looked a bit afraid of being approached by a knight..

"C-Can I do something for you?" He stuttered.

"Where's the prisoner being held?" Bedivere asked in as stern a voice.

The soldier pointed to one of the side buildings. "There. There is a trap door that leads to the dungeon."

"Trap door? I wonder what they were trying to hide..." Bedivere mumbled to herself.

Bedivere waved the soldier off and began to make her way over to the building on the south end of the camp. The building itself was little more than a small shack, unfitting with the rest of the buildings. The door was made of flimsy wood and Bedivere easily pulled it open.

Inside was basically bare. There were two windows on either side of the door and a single table with a chair in the middle with a rug underneath. Bedivere stepped inside and moved the table and chair aside. With her foot she swept it across the ground and found a handle.

Bedivere knelt down and opened the door. A musty smell came up from the trap door, it smelled of blood, mold, and a number of other foul things. A stone staircase led down from the door deep into the ground.

She descended into the stairs, hearing the faint sound of voices from within. The air in this place was cold, reminding her of Camelot's dungeon. The further down she went, the louder the voices got and she recognized one of the voices as Brom's.

"I am going to ask you again and it would be in your best interest to answer." Brom said in a quiet yet threatening tone. "Why are you bandit scum suddenly using a coat of arms?"

"Let me answer that question with one of my own." The prisoner spoke in a weak, harsh voice indicating that he was in pain. "Did you fools ever consider the fact that we are not bandits?"

"And I am a wizard." Brom scoffed. "You burn villages, plunder resources, and murder innocent people. Yet you expect me to believe that you are not simply bandits?"

"It seems your can not comprehend what I am trying to say. Perhaps your friend will fare better." The prisoner lifted his head slightly and gazed at Sir Bedivere who was now a bit behind Brom.

Brom turned around, looking quite surprised. "I did not expect you to make your way down here so soon. I had hoped to finish with this one."

"I decided I should talk to this man myself." Bedivere glanced into the cell and saw a rather beat up looking man tied to a chair.

Brom threw up his hands in frustration. "I haven't the slightest idea. I believe he is speaking nonsense." He then filled Bedivere in on everything that had happened up until that point.

"That is a bit strange. Perhaps he is just fooling around?" Bedivere scratched her chin as she thought. She couldn't rule out the possibility, but somewhere in the back of her mind told her to look into it. There was obviously more going on here than what was on the surface.

"What do you think it means?" Brom asked after a moment of silence.

"If what he said was true then it means that someone wants us to _think_ that they are bandits. For what purpose I have no idea." Bedivere shrugged. "Then again, it could really be nonsense."

"This does not feel right. When you head back to Camelot tomorrow will you do me the favor of bringing this information back with you? I cannot leave my men or I would go back with you myself." Brom asked.

Bedivere nodded. "Of course."

"I cannot afford to take a chance. I am prepared to take responsibility if this turns out to be nothing but I want this looked into." Brom replied. "I will see if I can get anything else out of our guest in the meantime." He jerked his thumb towards the man in the iron cell.

_The next morning._

Shirou was in a rush to return to Camelot as soon as possible. The second he was up he threw on his armor and rushed outside with the bit of armor he collected during battle and jumped onto Hikari.

Sir Bedivere was already prepared and waiting.

"Off so soon?" Just as he was about to get his horse from the stables and ride off, he ran into Tristan who was oddly enough alone.

"We have to hurry back to Camelot, we found something interesting." Shirou nodded in reply.

"I see. I wished to talk to you for a while but I will not keep you from your business. Camelot is nearly a day's ride from here." Tristan said with a smile.

"Say goodbye to the others for me." Shirou said as he grabbed the reins of his horse and watched Tristan step out of his way.

Tristan nodded. "Give my regards to the King."

Shirou kicked Hikari hard in the ribs and ushered the horse into a gallop after Bedivere. Speeding out of the camp and onto the forest path. Luckily they didn't have to worry about trudging through the forest again as all soldiers within it had been eliminated, making all paths safe. The forest was still very cold and dark, but the ominous and feeling of dread in the back of his mind was now gone. After a few minutes of riding Shirou and Hikari exited the forest. It had been a day since he'd seen the sky and it was a very refreshing sight, even though today's weather did not look promising.

The sky was dark with rainclouds, bathing the land in a grey color that seemed to darken Shirou's mood. The smell of rain was on the air and he could only hope that it wouldn't start until he reached Camelot. He and Bedivere didn't talk much on the journey, their minds on other things. After a couple of hours of galloping he slowed Hikari down to a walk. He needed rest and seemed to be thankful as he took the opportunity to catch his breath. After all, horses had a tendency to run until they die if ordered to. They were incredibly loyal animals, many warriors treated their horses like family, this was just as true in Japan as anywhere else in the world.

Shirou leaned forward and patted Hikari on the neck to show his thankfulness for everything the two of them had been through so far. He was thankful Bedivere gave Hikari to him as he could not have asked for a better partner.

He was eager to get back, not only to find out about the coat of arms, but also to see all his friends. The fight with the bandits made it clear that he needed more training with both Lancelot and Merlin. Merlin had already told him that there wasn't much else he could teach Shirou, but he figured he may as well ask again.

The remainder of Shirou's ride was uneventful. The hill of Camelot now rose above the horizon, bathed in the grey of the overcast sky. Thankfully the sky did not start pouring rain but smelled like it could at any moment. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon to the west. He urged Hikari into a swift gallop and held tightly to the reins as he sped towards Camelot.

The rain just began to trickle down from the sky as Bedivere and Shirou strode into Camelot's castle town. The town was alive with the people finishing up preparing for the weather that was about to hit them. The dirt in the road soon turned to mud as the rain picked up and Shirou had to urge Hikari up the hill towards Camelot's castle.

Making his way passed the guards and into the courtyard Shirou dropped off Hikari at the stables, fed him, and then pushed open the large double doors that led into the keep. He heaved a sigh of relief, somehow it felt good to be back in the halls.

Shirou heard footsteps approaching from a side hallway as he made his way towards the throne room in the rear of the castle. Shirou turned and saw a knight coming from out of the hallway near the direction of the dungeons. It turned out to be Sir Lancelot.

"Sir Lancelot." Bedivere nodded a greeting.

When Sir Lancelot saw Shirou he stopped in his tracks and turned his head. "What are you doing here? Are you not still ordered to be with the 7th Legion's bandit hunters?" Lancelot asked coldly. His eyes drifted to the piece of armor in Shirou's hand. "I see." He mumbled absent mindedly and walked away with Arthur and Guinevere's lion cub trailing after him. He seemed uninterested or out of touch, maybe thinking about something important.

"Is something troubling you?" Bedivere asked worriedly.

"Nothing that concerns you." He said before walking off again.

Shirou turned towards the passage that Lancelot came from, the one that lead into the dungeons.

"Let's go have a look." Shirou said to Sir Bedivere.

"I dare not interfere with Sir Lancelot's business. I will go ahead and give my report to the King." Bedivere replied and continued to the throne room.

Shirou's curiosity was piqued and he entered the hallway and went down into the dark dungeons. Shirou hadn't been down there since he himself was imprisoned, finding it was just as unpleasant as he remembered it. Reaching the bottom of the staircase he looked in on each cell as he passed, nearly all of them were empty at the moment. However out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of something white at the last cell in the back of the dungeon.

Shirou's walk turned into a jog, getting a feeling of dread in the back of his mind. He ran as fast as he could along the row of cells, praying that his assumption was wrong. He stood in front of the cell, and his knees grew weak causing him to nearly fall in surprise.

The woman in the cell looked up at him with the same smile she always did, her once golden hair dirty and unkempt. Her hands and ankles were in chains. "Welcome back, Sir Shirou." She said weakly. "I wish I were able to greet you under different circumstances." Even in chains, she was beautiful, polite, and elegant.

"Guinevere… why?"


	28. Storm's Eve

ACT XXVIII – Storm's Eve

"Guinevere…why?" Shirou asked, mouth agape as he stood in the dark, moist dungeons of the castle. In the cell in front of him sat Guinevere, the queen. Shirou had been away for a week on a mission with bandit slayers and returned to find this. His mind flooded with so many questions that he was unable to think about what could have happened in his absence.

Shirou felt something soft touch his fingers and looked down to see Azif, the King and Queen's pet lion cub look up at him almost sadly. The lion was a teenager now and had grown to the size of a small dog in the month that he'd been here. Azif looked forlorn at seeing one of his masters in a cage.

"I suspect I shall face treason charges." Guinevere said with a low sigh. "It was partially my fault, please do not get the King wrong." She tried to reassure Shirou after seeing his disbelief turn to anger and sorrow.

"Tell me what happened." From a pillar near a torch Shirou found a small wooden stool that he pulled in front of the cell and sat upon. Eager to hear the tale of how this unfortunate situation came to be.

"There is no easy way to say this, but I have been unfaithful to the King's love." Guinevere began with a shocking revelation that nearly made Shirou just as surprised as seeing her locked up in the first place. "You are aware of the King's… position are you not?" She asked him, referring to her secret.

Shirou nodded. "I am, though I don't know who else is."

Guinevere began to explain how that upon his coronation the King needed a Queen and thus the two were introduced to each other and eventually married. She also explained that the love between them was not just a facade, they did everything a couple should do together except for one thing which was impossible.

"She does not see herself as a woman which seemed a blessing at first and made it easier to deal with. However as time went on… everyone has their desires." She explained how she could not know the love of a man. Shirou listened intently finding the story a bit strange, and rightly so. Guinevere then told of how she met Sir Lancelot and the two of them eventually fell in love.

"That explains why he disappears so much…" Shirou scratched the back of his neck.

"I was told we were found out by a magical item given to Arturia from Morgana Le Fay. I was promptly arrested and thrown rather unceremoniously into the dungeons. Needless to say Arturia is furious." The Queen hung her head, looking distraught and sorrowful. "She found out some time ago actually, but tried to fix our relationship by adding Sir Lancelot to it. She does not understand, I do not think she ever did."

"…" Shirou was unsure what to think of this whole situation. On one hand he had his loyalty to his King, the oath he took as a knight. On the other… well putting her in jail for infidelity seemed a little overboard. He could understand Arturia would be angry but surely there had to be some other way of punishing her than this.

"I have been ordered to be executed at dawn." A small tear welled up in the corner of Guinevere's eye and streamed down her face.

"Executed!?" Shirou exclaimed loud enough, he thought, to make the torches on the walls flicker. Even Azif, who was still by his side flinched at the noise. It was unthinkable.

"You will want to keep your voice down, for your own sake. If you are seen talking to me you could be branded a traitor as well, I do not wish for that. You are too nice a person." Guinevere motioned with her hands for him to keep his voice down.

"I swear to you I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I'll find a way to get you out." Shirou said as he stood up from the stool. Guinevere stood by him in his time of need more than once, and gave him much needed advice when he couldn't decide what he wanted to do. Both she and Lancelot were a big part of his life here, losing one of them would be unthinkable.

"Please Shirou. I do not wish harm to come to you for my sake, promise me that you will not do anything rash." Her voice was almost pleading. She was more worried about Shirou than her own life. She would rather allow herself to die than allow anyone to be hurt trying to rescue her. This pulled on Shirou's heartstrings and he turned to leave the dungeon stopping at the very bottom of the steps.

"I can't do that. You've helped me and I never got to return the favor. As an aspiring knight I have to repay my debts don't I?" He turned around to face her, a fake, reassuring smile touched his lips. "I'm in debt up to my ears to everyone, including you. I'm not going to promise anything until it's paid." Shirou turned and made his way up the stone steps, the world seemed to darken as long as Guinevere was imprisoned.

Perhaps Merlin could help. The timing of his could not have been worse, Bedivere had already taken the piece of armor to the king, but Shirou thought he would bring it to Merlin's attention too. Without a further thought, he made his way out the main gate of the castle and towards Merlin's tower as the rain pattered down on his armor with a soft _tink tink tink._ Upon reaching the wizard's tower Shirou beat his fist upon the door as if he were trying to knock it down.

"Merlin!" Shirou called. A few moments went down and the air outside the tower went deathly quiet. From inside the tower he heard nothing. Despair crept in on his mind, if Merlin wasn't in his tower he wasn't sure who else he could turn to save for Bedivere. Lancelot and the King would be too occupied with Guinevere's imprisonment and Shirou doubted he could count on Sir Kay, Sir Galahad, or Sir Gawain. The female knight would be his only other option.

"Merlin! Tell me you're in there!" Shirou pounded on the door once more. After what seemed like an eternity he heard footsteps on the other side of the thick door just before it opened.

Merlin stood there in his robe, his eyes narrowed in disappointment as if he'd been interrupted. "Give an old man a chance to get down the stairs will you boy?" Merlin's eyes softened when he saw the look upon Shirou's face. "Something is wrong. Come in out of the rain." Merlin's attitude changed in an instant and offered Shirou inside.

Merlin led Shirou up the winding staircase into Merlin's living room. "What is that you need?" Merlin asked.

"Sir Bedivere and I took a bit of armor with an insignia from the bandits we fought with the Legion." Shirou responded. "What about the Queen? What is going to happen to her?"

"Ah, the Queen." Merlin hung his head, his white hair hiding his face. "She is to be executed at dawn tomorrow. I have tried to convince the King not to do this, but she is of course very furious as you can imagine."

"You can't tell me there's nothing we can do!" Shirou slammed his fists on the armrest of his wooden chair.

"I am sorry but changing the mind of a King is no easy task. An angry King even more so." In an effort to lighten the mood Merlin coughed and made a motion with his hands. "Tell me about what you and Sir Bedivere found."

Shirou appreciated Merlin's attempt to get his mind off of the subject of the Queen but it wasn't just something that could be brushed aside. Even so, this was important and seeing the Queen imprisoned made him nearly forget about it entirely. Shirou grabbed a piece of paper and did his best to draw it with a nearby quill, after that he handed it to Merlin.

"Let us have a look then." Merlin reached out an arm and picked up the piece of paper, his eyes widened with surprise and he nearly dropped it.

"You know what it is?" Shirou asked.

"Yes, I know what this is. I have never seen it before, but if you pick apart what it means it is simple to tell. It is a message." Merlin replied ominously. The room seemed to darken and a clap of thunder sounded outside.

"A message from who?"

"Morgana Le Fay. It seems she has finally made her move." Merlin stood up from his chair and looked out the nearest window into the storm.

"What does she have to do with this?" Shirou asked curiously.

"She comes for the throne, desiring to put that bastard Mordred upon it. She is gathering an army to her and if you say you found an entire group of bandits wearing this than it is worse than I feared." Merlin spoke swiftly, as if his thoughts were trying to put together many things in his mind like a math problem, trying to find what it equaled.

"We'll stop them, we have the knights, the Legion, and the rest of the army. How does Morgana expect to fight an entire country?" Shirou asked.

"She is a clever witch, perhaps just as clever as I. The King recognizing Guinevere's unfaithfulness was undoubtedly her doing." Merlin explained.

"What exactly will that accomplish for her?"

"An army is only as good as the leader my dear boy. If you were to take away the King's rational thoughts and replace them with anger, imagine what could happen." Merlin looked like he needed to sit back down. He leaned against the wall, held up by his staff.

"We have to do something, talk to the King somehow and convince him that he's being controlled!" Shirou exclaimed. He wasn't about to just stand by and watch his home be destroyed. These people saved his life on more than one occasion, he was obligated to do whatever it took to make sure that his King stayed on the throne. He owed Arturia at least that much.

"I am afraid that we may be too late. You do not know the King as well as I." Another clap of thunder and lightning sounded outside. The loud boom indicated the storm was near. "A storm is coming Emiya Shirou. Where will you be when it strikes?"

Shirou stood up, taking the time to fix his armor and his gauntlets that had gone askew. He adjusted the leather straps that held it to his body and tightened his sheath on his hip that held the sword Merlin had given him. He turned to Merlin before heading down the stairs. "In it's way." He replied before leaving to the castle, his cloak flowing elegantly behind him.


	29. Oathbreaker

ACT XXIX – Oathbreaker

Leaving Merlin's tower, Shirou crossed the rain soaked courtyard to the entrance of the castle. The rain continued to pour forth from the sky with increased ferocity, every few seconds a flash of lightning lit up the sky. The large wooden double doors leading into the castle creaked loudly as he placed both of his hands upon them and pushed them open. The entry hall was deathly quiet as everyone had most likely retired for the storm.

"I didn't close my window either…" Shirou realized with a heavy sigh. He said "window" but in reality it was little more than a piece of wood that could be propped open covering a hole in the wall. Shirou put the thought to the back of his mind, after all he had more important things to worry about than his possessions getting a little wet.

Shirou headed up the staircase in the corner of the room that led to the West wing of the castle where the King's chamber was located. He still needed to talk to Arturia anyway about the grave news he'd heard from Merlin concerning Morgana and Mordred. The closer he got to her room the thicker the guards became, they gave him strange looks but for the most part they just kept an eye on him.

He came to the entrance of the King's chambers where two guards were posted outside. They stood at attention when Shirou approached.

"My apologies, but if you are here to see the King I am afraid I cannot allow you to pass." One of the guards explained.

"Why is that?" Shirou asked, his voice holding a tone of obvious disappointment.

"The King as you can imagine is extremely upset at the betrayal of his Queen and has ordered us to forbid entrance to all. If you require a meeting I suggest that you wait until tomorrow after the execution." The other guard replied.

"I have to see the King tonight, both for his own good and the Queen's." Shirou exclaimed. With a war looming on the horizon it was becoming just as Merlin said. Arturia would not be able to lead her armies with a clear head, this would surely cause her to make rash decisions out of anger.

"Be that as it may I am afraid that I cannot allow you passage." The guard apologized.

Just as Shirou was about to give up and find another way the door opened to reveal Arturia standing there with a frown on her face. "What is all the commotion out here?" She barked at the guards before turning to Shirou. "Shirou, I did not expect you. Sir Bedivere has already brought what you found to my attention. Did you need something else?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's part of the reason I was trying to see you." Shirou replied.

"What would be the other part?" Arturia asked.

"It's about the Queen. I came back and found her in the dungeons. You can probably guess it was a bit of a shock." Shirou was thankful that she didn't immediately turn him away, perhaps he would actually get a chance to speak with her before tomorrow.

"I see, very well then you may enter." Arturia stepped aside leaving Shirou plenty of room to slip inside. Once inside she shut the door behind them. "What is it you need?"

Shirou scratched the back of his head. "I'm not saying the queen should be forgiven, I'm only saying that I think execution is a bit extreme."

"Extreme?" Arturia spun around and raised an eyebrow. "Is it extreme to punish a criminal for betraying the heart of her King, her betrothed, and the nation that loved her?" Her tone of voice was starting to become higher. "Is it extreme that she seduced one of my most loyal knights behind my back and kept it a secret? Is that not extreme enough for you Emiya Shirou!?" She was shouting now, clearly pained, her face twisted.

Shirou was speechless, he had never heard her yell like this. Her tone of voice certainly didn't sound like a King's. She sounded like someone who had their heart broken. "…"

The more he thought about it, the less sense it made that he was trying to save Guinevere. Should he not feel just as betrayed as everyone else? He'd forgotten where he was. Adultery was still serious back in Fuyuki but one certainly wouldn't be put to death for it. In this day and age, the punishment that was going to be served should be completely understandable. He knew little about this world, but he was sure that betraying a King was among the worst possible things someone could do. He shook those thoughts from his head. It wasn't like him, if he could, he absolutely had to save her.

"If you know of another way I beg of you to tell me." Tears formed at the edges of Arturia's eyes as she pleaded. In hear heart she didn't want to have to kill someone she once loved, however as a King she could not let such a thing go unpunished.

It was at this moment as he saw the tears roll down Arturia's cheeks, that Emiya Shirou, high school student and citizen of Fuyuki City was pushed aside for Shirou Emiya the knight's squire. The girl in front of him, a King, his King, was begging him to help her with tears in her eyes. He had already had doubts about everything concerning what he should do. Emiya Shirou could not survive in this world, but that other part of him could. Emiya Shirou couldn't protect a nation and it's King, but as a knight's squire he could. He realized that he had to help her, he _wanted_ to help her. It was his duty and he had to complete it no matter the cost, even if it meant his life.

He did feel betrayed at the Queen's disloyalty. Shirou knew all too well how generous the King was. She'd saved his life, or rather gave it back to him. After all he could have been executed just as easily, instead he was given a second chance and eventually made a knight. He'd killed for the sake of the King. Now here was his King in front of him crying with a broken heart. Even so there was that nagging feeling in the very back of his mind that killing her would be wrong. However there was nothing he could do to change Arturia's mind, at least that he knew.

"What about Sir Lancelot? Will he be punished to?" Shirou asked.

Arturia shook her head. "No, I do not blame him for what happened."

This took Shirou by surprise. He knew of Lancelot's relationship with Arturia and how close of friends they were. It seemed odd that he wouldn't be punished as well. He was sure the King had her reasons however it made no sense to Shirou at all. Weren't both parties just as guilty? Even more so since they were close to the King.

"Now I must ask you to leave Shirou. I have much to prepare for and I wish to be alone. Wait for my summons tomorrow." Arturia wiped the tears from her eyes with her index finger and turned back towards the window where a clap of thunder lit up the sky.

Shirou sighed and bowed politely. He hadn't accomplished at all what he came here for, what's more he felt sympathetic for the King. Which was the complete opposite of what he wanted. He was hoping the King would see reason and think of some other punishment for the Queen, but as Merlin said changing her mind was near impossible. He would have to think of some other way.

Shirou left the room and the guards at the door closed it behind him. They watched his back as he left down the stairs to the entrance hall. As of now Shirou had little to do but return home and decide what he was going to do tomorrow. As he saw it he had two options, stop the execution and betray his King and his oath or realize that what they were completely in their right to execute the Queen. He was after all, a foreigner and even though he was squire to a knight had no right to tell them how to punish their criminals.

As he walked through the relatively empty castle Shirou wished he would have arrived in Camelot earlier. He would have like to have gotten Bedivere's opinion on the matter too. She was very close with Arturia as well as the rest of the knights and might have been able to give him some advice to help him make up his mind. He still felt torn even though he knew full well that Guinevere's betrayal deserved punishment, yet he still didn't want to see her killed.

Once outside he found Hikari where Shirou had left him. As if awaiting his arrival the horse trotted forward happily.

"You've got it easy don't you." He said to the horse and patted it on the head. The horse responded by moving his head to the side and bumping Shirou's as if trying to cheer him up.

"Alright fine, you win." Shirou replied as he swung his leg up and over and settled into his saddle. "Let's go home." He squeezed his legs and eased the horse into a trot through the rain being careful to avoid overly muddy areas as he made his way down the hill and into the village. After making it home Shirou made sure that Hikari had a space where he could stay dry out of the rain and then went inside.

He took off his armor and closed the window that had been left open, luckily only part of his primitive pillow had gotten wet which was solved by easily flipping it over. He laid his sword against the wall near his bed and took a small mouthful of water from the basin in the middle of the room. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow, he'd failed to change Arturia's mind so the execution would go on as planned unless he did something to the contrary. As he lie on his bed he listened to the rain patter down on his roof, occasionally making it through a crack and dripping into the house. The sound was sort of calming and soon Shirou's vision blurred and he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

()()()

Shirou was awoken by the sound of a lot of people outside his house. Shirou bolted upwards and threw open his window to find the street crowded with people of all ages walking passed his house and heading into the center of the village. Outside the sun was high in the sky and the air smelled of freshly fallen rain.

"Shit, I must have slept in." Shirou cursed and leapt from his bed and quickly washed his face and threw on his armor and sword. After making sure all the straps were fitted tightly he hurried out the door. It looked like the entire village was heading there and it was a bit of a challenge dodging and weaving through the crowd.

"Tis a wonderful day for the execution of a traitor is it not?" One of the villagers exclaimed at him. Shirou merely ignored the man and continued on his way. The people didn't seem the least been concerned for the Queen. After all why should they be? She'd been branded as a traitor, they would be happy to see her head roll. In this day and age a public execution was better than prime time television.

Shirou had never been this far into the village before, he pretty much kept on the side where his house and the path leading to Camelot was located so he never really got a sense of how big the village was. As he reached the center courtyard he found at least a couple hundred people standing in a large crowd around a piece of stone that had brown stains covering it. In front of the stone sat a basket. It didn't take much of Shirou's imagination to figure out what this place was.

Meanwhile the noise was similar to that of a baseball game. Voices blended together to form a dull roaring sound that most likely traveled for miles. Feeling someone tap on his shoulder Shirou turned around to find Lina and Elise standing behind him, Lina being the one that tapped him on the shoulder.

"I thought you would still be with the army. I am glad to see you are in one piece though." Elise stared up at him with a frown, her hands resting on her hips like an angry wife. "Do not get it into your head that I missed you though." Elise said with a toss of her hair.

"I am glad to see you returned unharmed, do not believe what Elise says, you were indeed missed." Lina said with a bright smile.

Shirou scratched the back of his head. He hadn't expected to see them, in fact he almost hoped not to until this business with the Queen was solved. "I'm surprised you managed to find me in this crowd." Shirou replied with an exasperated sigh.

Lina laughed. "It is not that difficult when the sun shines so brightly off of your armor." She said while tapping her fingernail on Shirou's breastplate.

"What do you think about all of this?" Shirou jerked his thumb towards the wooden platform behind him.

"I believe the punishment is just." Elise replied. "She was close to the King and betrayed him, she has to be punished." She said casually.

"It is a shame, I wonder what happened to make her do such a thing. Do you not find it strange?" Lina asked Elise.

"I do. Lady Guinevere was a wonderful Queen, however there is no telling how long she has been committing such treachery. Betraying the King is equal to betraying all of us." Elise replied and crossed her arms.

"…" Shirou fell silent. It seemed everyone felt pretty much the same about the Queen's sentence. Shirou's mind was still full of uncertainty and he knew he didn't have a whole lot of time to make up his mind. In mere minutes Guinevere would be brought to the execution block and Shirou would have to decide.

As if right on a cue of some kind several guards approached leading the Queen up onto the platform followed closely by the King herself. The crowd went silent and for a moment the only sounds that could be heard were the footsteps of the guards, the king, and their prisoner. Time seemed to stand still for everyone but them. They reached the top of the platform and the Queen was unceremoniously pushed to her knees in front of the stone block. Several other knights followed the King and took their places close to the platform. Shirou didn't know them as they were not of the Round Table but he had seen them around the castle personally guarding the King herself. Shirou noticed Sir Bedivere, Sir Gawain, and Sir Galahad among the crowd. The only knight he did not see was Sir Lancelot.

A man dressed in a black hooded cloak that covered his face and wielding a large axe approached. The axe was as long as the man himself and probably just has heavy. It was designed with only one thing in mind. To decapitate a person with a single blow.

"Citizens of Camelot!" Arturia approached the middle of the platform and began to speak. "We gather today to bare witness to this traitor." She motioned towards Guinevere. The crowd erupted with jeers and booing and cliché cries such as "Off with her head!" Arturia held her hand up and the crowd went silent again. "It pains me to order such a thing as execution, but treachery of this kind cannot be allowed to continue." She said almost sadly. "As such I sentence Queen Guinevere to death."

The crowd began to murmur as Arturia mentioned for the executioner to do what he was there for. Shirou's heart began to pound in his chest and it felt like it was going to explode from his chest. He had to make his choice now or the executioner would make his choice for him. His hand twitched, eagerly wanting to find the hilt of his sword to do something.

Time slowed down. Vaguely, Shirou heard Lina behind him ask him what he was doing. His fingers found the grip of his sword and closed around it. He didn't consider the fact that he was breaking his oath as by doing this, or even what he would do if he managed to free Guinevere and escape. None of that was on his mind. Deep within himself, Shirou didn't want to watch her die, he couldn't watch her die. It was too sad, too cruel of a punishment. There had to be another way.

Shirou was about to draw his sword and charge towards the platform as the executioner slowly walked towards Guinevere clutching at his axe. However he stopped as a scream echoed from the crowd. Shirou looked up towards the platform and saw one of the knights had a long shaft of wood protruding from his neck. Blood spurted from the wound and the man crumpled to the ground without even the ability to scream.

He didn't see where the arrow came from, it all happened in an instant. Another arrow flew from somewhere and lodged itself within another knight's chest. The soldiers nearest the King immediately moved to protect her. From the roof of a house concealed by a nearby tree jumped a knight clad in black armor. Shirou immediately recognized it as Sir Lancelot. He must have somehow managed to hide behind that tree and shoot the arrows through it, which is why no one noticed the first shot.

The black knight landed with a loud thud on the ground and drew the sword at his hip. He was shaking, Shirou could tell. Most likely with anger and rage coursing through him, the likes of which Shirou had never seen before. He uttered a roar which didn't seem to be muffled at all even though the face plate on his helmet was drawn down. The sound was like a savage beast let loose, Shirou could barely tell that it was coming from a human.

The villagers began to scatter, frightened off by the knight's sudden and terrifying appearance. The village turned into chaos. Some soldiers tried to contain the crowd while others moved through it to engage Sir Lancelot who was now charging towards the platform where Sir Guinevere was about to executed. The knights didn't stand a chance against the enraged seasoned knight. They barely got close enough to deliver a blow before they were on the ground in pools of their own blood. Off the ground Lancelot grabbed one of their swords and continued his charge.

Shirou drew his sword and also charged the platform. Opening his Magic Circuits he poured his energy into his legs and Strengthened them, allowing him to run nearly twice as fast, pushing his body past it's utmost limits. Lancelot was too preoccupied with killing the guards on the execution platform. As he killed the last one, Lancelot moved toward Arturia and the knights but Shirou blocked his path.

"Get the king out of here!" He shouted at the other knights. They didn't need him to tell him, but they were already leading the king away. Bedivere stepped forward and took her place next to Shirou, her sword raised as well. The two of them nodded to each other.

"Do the two of you mean to stop me?" Lancelot growled at them.

""We do."" Shirou and Bedivere said together.

"..." Lancelot uttered a guttural sigh, and then he charged them.

Bedivere cut to the left. Shirou instinctively knew that she wanted to flank him from the sides, this intuition came from their several battles and their bond together. They worked well together, squire and knight acted as one. Shirou cut right and gripped his sword in both hands. As the two of them approached Lancelot and raised their swords, Shirou found he was unable to follow through with his swing. His muscles wouldn't allow it.

Because of this, Lancelot was able to easily parry Bedivere's strike and kick her off of the platform.

"You hesitated." He said, turning his head back towards Shirou.

"I respected you. I looked up to you!" Shirou shouted. "I don't want her to die either, but this isn't the way!"

"Either way, you do not yet have the power to stop me." Lancelot replied in a low voice and raised his sword at Shirou. "I do not want this, but if you are standing in my way then I shall do what I must."

Shirou tightened the grip on his sword. "Then so will I."

The two of them clashed fiercely. Lancelot gripped Arondight, hammering Shirou's sword with a multitude of blows. Shirou was barely able to block them, the speed and ferocity at which he was attacking hadn't been seen before. Shirou was brought to his knees and just about when Lancelot was able to bring his sword down for the last time Sir Bedivere rejoined the fray.

The fight had moved off of the platform and was now on the dirt in front of it. Sir Bedivere and Shirou took turns trying to subdue Lancelot, but were met with failure each time. He was the best of the knights, the best there ever was. Lancelot had complete control of the battle the entire time. In the dueling he had made his way up the stairs back to the execution platform and near Guinevere.

"You should not have come." Guinevere said, barely audible over the sound of the crowd still struggling to leave the area.

Lancelot didn't answer her, but lifted up his faceplate and whistled, all the while fending off Shirou and Bedivere. In a minute or so a large black stallion galloped in and Sir Lancelot lifted the Queen up on the horse before jumping on himself. Shirou and Bedivere could do nothing as Lancelot rode off with the Queen. He was almost thankful that Lancelot came in when he did. He was about to do the same thing, but after seeing Lancelot do it, Shirou wasn't so sure that he could. Lancelot laid waste to at least 10 soldiers, leaving their bloody corpses on the ground. It was a terrible sight, what's more, these were all knights and soldiers he'd seen before. There was only one thing that could drive a person to such lengths for another person, one thing that could cause a knight to break his oath and kill his fellow men. That was love.

That was the last time Shirou ever saw Sir Lancelot or Guinevere. The person who took him under his wing, albeit reluctantly at first, was now riding off into the sun to an unknown destination. They would no doubt be pursued for the rest of their lives by the King and her soldiers. It was a sad and lonely existence, wherever they went they would be branded as traitors to the crown. Shirou never would have thought Lancelot would do anything like this, he thought he knew him well enough. Traitor or not, Shirou would always value the things that Lancelot taught him not just about swordsmanship but about having honor and upholding the values of the Knights of the Round Table. In his heart, he would never forget the black knight.

After the crowd had been cleared out and Shirou checked on Lina and Elise making sure that they weren't harmed, Shirou made his way back to the platform to speak with Bedivere.

"Are you alright?" Bedivere asked, clearly out of breath.

"I think so. I'm going to hurt in awhile though, I pushed my legs passed their physical limit." Hopefully there wouldn't be any permanent damage from using the magic on his legs, but he would definitely be sore. "We've failed..." Shirou heaved a sigh.

"Yes, but at least the King wasn't harmed." Bedivere said with a stoic expression, but Shirou could tell behind it that she was just as troubled as he was.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. I didn't know what to do, but I know I had to at least try and stop him." Shirou hung his head.

Bedivere's expression softened and she placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "There are few who can match a knight in combat for so long. You did well."

"What do we do now?" Shirou asked.

"We should report in at the castle." Bedivere replied and began to lead Shirou back to the castle. The two of them walked in silence up the hill and through the gates. The guards have increased outside, but they let in Bedivere and Shirou with no issue.

As Shirou passed into the courtyard he noticed a large statue of a knight in the courtyard. It wasn't the statue itself that caught his interest but the plaque below it. Shirou had never taken the time to read it but now somehow felt himself drawn to it. It was the Knights Code of Chivalry. One of Lancelot's favorite teaching tools as he had loved to recite it. The oath that Sir Lancelot broke was written here and Shirou found himself reading it out loud, as if to never forget it himself.

_Fear God and maintain His Church_

_Serve the liege lord in valour and faith_

_Protect the weak and defenseless_

_Live by honour and for glory_

_Guard the honour of fellow knights_

_Speak only truth_

_Never refuse a challenge from an equal_

_Never turn the back upon a foe_

This was the Knight's Code that Shirou soon hoped to swear to abide by. This was the code he would defend with his life and his sword. For the rest of his life he swore to never forget this, even though his greatest teacher threw it all away. He looked down at himself and his armor. His motivation to become a knight was not swayed. He swore he would protect the kingdom and everyone in it. Merlin said that there was a war on the horizon, if that was true then Shirou had to do everything he could so that the kingdom would not fall.

"Better get to work then." Shirou straightened the straps on his gauntlets and turned his back to the statue. He followed Bedivere into the castle. The day had barely begun and already Shirou could tell that it was going to be a long one.


	30. Further Training

ACT XXX – Further Training

Shirou entered the castle and followed Bedivere to the throne room. Merlin was in front of the throne speaking to the King about something Shirou couldn't overhear. To the left of the throne stood Sir Galahad and Sir Gawain.

"-recalling him here would be wise. His bow would be of great use." Galahad replied to the other Knight.

"Aye, but do you think he can be persuaded? Getting him to leave the side of that woman can be troublesome." Gawain scratched the back of his head. "I've never seen a man who loves to sing so much. If anything I am certain he can liven up the mood around here at the very least. Have you noticed how dark the mood has become of late?" Gawain asked.

"Rightly so, Gawain! Our best Knight and beloved Queen were found traitorous! Do you think such acts are cause for lively moods and celebration? Perhaps we should raise a pint of mead and sing of great battles? Is this what you would have us do?" Bedivere growled.

"Calm yourself, Sir Bedivere. I assure you we are not taking the situation lightly." Arturia, who had been sitting on the throne, listening the whole time, finally said.

Shirou and Bedivere approached the throne and knelt down. "Of course my King, I need to talk to you if you have time right now. It is very important." Bedivere said. As the assistant, Shirou stood silent and let Bedivere talk.

Arturia nodded. "Of course, as it so happens I have need of you as well." She then turned to Merlin. "If you will Merlin, please try and keep Sir Bedivere from beheading Sir Gawain." She said to Merlin who had apparently overheard the Knight's conversation.

The three knights turned around and Shirou noticed that Bedivere's face had turned beet red. "I am sorry your Majesty, I did not mean to cause a disturbance."

"Yes, yes, I am sure you did not." Merlin walked forward and chuckled lightly.

"Now then, Sir Bedivere." Arturia cleared her throat. "As it so happens I already know of the matter of which you require my audience and it is serious indeed."

Shirou realized that, that's what Merlin was talking to the King about as he and Bedivere entered the castle. Just as well, Merlin could probably explain it better and offer better insight than Shirou could. He also wondered what the Knights were talking about, it sounded like they wanted to call back someone that had been here before. Unfortunately Shirou didn't have the slightest idea on who it might be. The recent events with Sir Lancelot and Lady Guinevere were also on everyone's mind, though Shirou heard no talk of them being pursued.

"We're preparing for a war, aren't we?" Shirou asked hesitantly, even though he already knew the answer. It wasn't something he looked forward to, dreaded even. The thought of someone he cared about getting thrown into it made his chest tighten up, as though there was a knot in it. What made it worse was the fact that everyone who would have to fight were people he cared about, save for Lina, Elise, and Geoff. They thankfully would not have to be in battle.

Arturia frowned. "It seems so. We have little choice as Morgana is making her intentions rather clear now. I cannot fathom though, why her first target is to march straight here to Camelot. It is foolish and I am sure she knows this. Neither she nor Mordred is a fool. So I wonder why…" Her voice trailed off in thought.

It seems that it was unavoidable. Shirou would no doubt have to go into battle as well. He had to prepare himself, he had to get stronger, train harder than he ever had before. He had to make sure everyone he cared about came back alive to smile again. He had to do whatever he could now, times were about to get rough for everyone. He would be the one to make sure everyone made it home. No one would end up like Lina's family, or Shirou's family. He wouldn't let it happen.

"What do I have to do?" Bedivere asked.

"Stand by for now. However there is something that I would like to discuss with your Squire." Arturia's lips curled into a small, barely noticeable grin once as she saw Shirou's determined expression. "That is a good expression, Shirou." Arturia nodded. "Tell me, can you use any weapons other than a sword?" She asked.

"Well, I can use a bow pretty well I think. I'm a bit out of practice though, I haven't had time since I came here." Shirou replied.

"Hm, well that is a start." Arturia mumbled. "I need you ready for war, Shirou. I am speaking of real war, not those small skirmishes you have fought in up until now." She spoke up again, her voice returning to the familiar strong and commanding tone befitting a King. "From here on your training will be intensified. You will be trained in a variety of weapons as well as mounted combat and tactics. Your training with Merlin will also continue in earnest." Arturia explained.

"It doesn't sound like I'll have a lot of time for anything else…" Shirou mumbled to himself.

"That is the idea. As I have said, I need you ready for war. I need you to be a weapon, a sword, _my_ sword." Arturia replied.

Shirou scratched his cheek nervously. "With Sir Lancelot gone, who will teach me?"

"Sir Bedivere will continue your training with the sword as well as teach you how to properly use a shield. Sir Galahad will teach you the spear and I will train you in tactics myself." Arturia proclaimed.

"What about mounted combat?" Shirou asked.

"Unfortunately the person I have in mind is not here, it will take at least two days to retrieve him. I only just received the idea." Her eyes wandered toward Sir Galahad and Sir Gawain still talking indistinctly in the corner of the throne room. "Your training will begin immediately; you are to meet Sir Bedivere in the training yard. We have little time to spare, I have my preparations as well. According to our information Morgana's army is merely a fortnight away as the crow flies."

"Then if you will excuse us, it seems like we have a lot of work to do." Sir Bedivere answered.

Bedivere and Shirou bowed and left the throne room. "I may not be as capable as Sir Lancelot, but I am sure I can teach you a few things." Bedivere said.

"Are you kidding? You're great! Your style flows very nicely, it'll be a pleasure learning from you." Shirou replied excitedly.

Bedivere nodded. "It will be nice to spend time with you as well. I would like to know more about my squire."

"..." Shirou could feel his face warm up and found himself unable to look at Sir Bedivere any longer. He looked ahead and focused on the training that would take place.

Walking this path had started to become familiar to him. He even looked forward to seeing Arturia even though it was usually for business. Shirou wished he could get to know the King herself a bit better; all he had to go on so far were stories from others he'd met in the Legion. However at the moment that was the last thing on his mind, if he wanted to do what he needed to do he had to remain focused on the tasks at hand. Namely his training which was where he was heading now.

Shirou had only been in a couple of battles with Sir Bedivere, but he could be certain that if the King wanted her to train him than she must be suitable for it. Still he wondered why the King wanted to train him on so many things at once before battle. Shirou could understand intensifying his training, but he thought maybe Arturia expected too much of him.

Making their way outside, Shirou found that the sun that had blazed in the sky mere minutes ago had been replaced by dark clouds, threatening rain upon the land. This morning when he woke up, he thought the weather was sickeningly beautiful for what was about to take place. He was almost relieved that it was about to change.

Shirou and Bedivere cut through the garden with the statue of the knight, almost expecting to see Guinevere sitting in it with Azif at her heels. That was until he realized that she wouldn't be there, Azif however, was. He was curled up on the stone bench in front of the flowerbed that Guinevere always sat in. As Shirou approached Azif lifted his head and yawned widely, exposing his incredibly sharp teeth.

"Well, I haven't seen you around in awhile." Shirou said to him. The little lion, who was now quite a bit bigger since Shirou last saw him, stretched his paws in front of him and looked at Shirou curiously with his head tilted.

Shirou walked forward and slowly stretched out his hand. To his surprise Azif lunged forward and pushed his head into Shirou's hand. "You've gotten bigger." Shirou said with a chuckle at the little lion's affection. He wondered how long it would take for Azif to become fully grown, right now he was probably a little bit bigger than a small dog.

At that moment Azif's ears perked up as if he heard something interesting, he then jumped off of the bench he was standing on and disappeared before Shirou could even keep track of him. Nearby he saw a bush rustle and heard sound of a small animal screaming followed by a crunching sound. Leaving the young lion to his lunch Shirou made his way straight to the training yard.

"I have yet to figure out what the King plans to do with him once he grows up..." Bedivere said to no one in particular as she watched the little lion scamper off.

Finding himself in the familiar grassy space he watched Sir Bedivere draw her sword and start practicing by herself. In her hand she held a single sword which she was using to slash at imaginary enemies that looked to be surrounding her. It didn't take Shirou long to notice that her form was very different than Sir Lancelot's. Sir Lancelot's form used a lot of overhead slices, designed to overpower his enemy and knock them off balance. Sir Bedivere's however, was more refined and elegant, like watching water flowing over rocks. Her stabs were swift and precise like fencing, and her other movements involved a lot of twisting of her body, allowing her extra energy to use in overhead and horizontal swings. It was like she was using her own martial art, taking the best movements that fit her from many styles. Her long silvery blonde hair flowed around her but never seemed to block her vision. Shirou was entranced. He couldn't help but stare, her technique was so beautiful that he soon found himself lost in her movements.

After what seemed like forever, Bedivere finally stopped and turned her attention towards Shirou. "I have never seen someone watch me so intently before." She said as she relaxed her body, her hand that held her sword hung loosely at her side.

Shirou felt a bit of heat rise up in his face, he didn't even realize he was staring. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to." He sputtered.

Bedivere tilted her head. "Your face is red, why is that?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing." Shirou waved her off.

Bedivere didn't look convinced. "As you wish. Come forward and draw your sword." She beckoned to him.

Shirou entered the dirt right and Bedivere backed up to the other side of it, giving him a full half of the ring. "You say to draw my sword, but we won't use the training blades?" He asked curiously.

"I think by now you have evolved beyond the training swords." Bedivere said, placing her free hand upon her hip.

Shirou thought about it for a moment, but eventually drew his sword.

"I have seen you using two swords when training with Sir Lancelot have I not?" Bedivere asked.

Shirou nodded. "He said that I should find a style that suits me, so far that's been the best option."

"That may be, but in a large battle two swords will not protect you from archers. A shield will." Bedivere said and pointed toward a small weapons rack that had a small kite shield resting on it. "You will use that along with your sword today."

"Alright…" Shirou made his way over to the rack and grabbed the shield. It was just a flat piece of steel for the most part reinforced with some wood in the back. After turning it over Shirou slipped his arm into the two leather straps on the back of the shield. When he relaxed his arm he realized the shield was a lot heavier than it looked.

"Prepare yourself!" Bedivere raised her sword, pointing the tip at Shirou.

Shirou took a stance, positioning the shield in front of him. The second after he finished, both he and Bedivere ran at one another. Usually he let the other person attack first so he had a better chance to defend himself, but he was eager to see more of Bedivere's style up close. The shield also made him feel safer than just using two swords. He felt like there was a fortress around him.

Bedivere started with a stab. Shirou figured with how heavy the shield was, he should use the weight of it as well as his armor in his favor. The tip of Bedivere's sword slammed against the shield and sparks flew off of it from all sides. The hit was harder than Shirou had predicted, she must not have held back at all. Feeling himself starting to stagger a little, Shirou adjusted his back foot and pushed forward. Bedivere sensed the movement across her sword and retreated backwards.

Now it was Shirou's turn to go on the offensive. He pushed off of his back leg and raised his sword over his head aiming for a downward strike at her. He used all of his momentum to deliver the blow. Bedivere wasn't holding back, so he wouldn't either.

"Hm, naïve." Bedivere uttered casually and stepped sideways, dodging Shirou's charge with a sidestep. She then gave Shirou a painful slap on the back with the flat of her blade and the impact caused him to fall face first into the dirt with a thud.

Shirou lay there for a moment before he heard Bedivere walk up and place the blade of her sword against his neck. Shirou forgot the fact that while he could use the weight of his armor and his shield to his favor, so could Bedivere. She'd used his momentum against him.

"You are dead." She said with a disappointed sigh. "You should not rush into battle so rashly."

After Bedivere removed her blade Shirou sat upright. "Sorry, I thought I had you for a minute."

Bedivere uttered a small chuckle. "Do not apologize; it is inevitable that you would make mistakes. You are, after all, in training." She offered him a smile as well as her hand. Shirou took it and she helped him to his feet.

After that the two of them trained for a couple more hours. Shirou found Bedivere to be a much easier tutor to deal with than Sir Lancelot had been. Where Lancelot was harsh and unforgiving, Bedivere was also harsh but in a softer sort of way. She worked him hard as Sir Lancelot did, but she was more caring. As if she actually cared if Shirou progressed. Lancelot merely beat the lessons into him, whereas Bedivere beat the lessons into him, but afterwards offered words of encouragement or praise. Shirou couldn't help but think a more feminine side of her came out when she was around him.

"Good, good. You look like you have been working hard. Both of you." A voice came from behind Shirou. He turned around to find Merlin standing behind him.

"It seems we are done for today." Bedivere said and sheathed her sword.

Merlin nodded. "Indeed, I shall take the young knight off of your hands for now. Rest assured I will return him to you tomorrow."

Shirou was almost disappointed that his training with Bedivere was ending for the day. He sheathed his sword as well and returned the shield where he found it. "I enjoyed your teaching Sir Bedivere, I'll see you tomorrow." Shirou said with a smile before going to follow Merlin who was already back on his way to his tower. Shirou always found it odd how he could seemingly appear and disappear anywhere he wanted.

"Er…Shirou?" Bedivere's voice took a shaky, almost timid tone as Shirou started to walk away with Merlin.

"Hm? What is it?" Shirou turned around and saw Bedivere standing in a way not befitting a knight at all. Her hands were held down in front of her and she was fidgeting with them like she was about to say something she wasn't supposed to.

"I did not get a chance to inform you before but…" Her voice trailed off and her cheeks reddened ever so slightly. It would be barely noticeable to anyone looking on from a distance but it was quite clear to Shirou.

"You are turning out to be a fine squire." She said loudly, as if she had to force the words out.

From behind him, Shirou heard Merlin laugh. He didn't think that he was laughing at either of them but rather the situation. Bedivere's reaction seemed almost like she was confessing to him, but there was no way that would happen. Though right now, she looked more girlish to Shirou than she ever had before, save for the time he found out about her secret. He'd accepted what she was, but maybe he never really noticed it. Not until now. Her facial expression was now not the one of a noble knight, but of a girl.

Shirou offered his reply with a smile.

"If I am interrupting, I will gladly return another time." A chortle of laughter came from right beside Shirou. Startled, Shirou jumped what felt like ten feet into the air as the old man had surprised him.

"Don't do that!" Shirou barked in annoyance.

"Hu hu hu. Forgive me." Merlin's beard shook as he laughed. "Well?"

"Yeah, I should continue my training." Shirou replied.

Merlin raised an eyebrow at Shirou's response. "Very well then." He looked over Shirou's shoulder at Sir Bedivere. "Fear not, I will have him back to you soon enough!" He called with a laugh.

Bedivere uttered a gasp and stood rigid at the old man's reply. "Begone! Thou art an old lecher!" She shouted back and spun on her heel, facing her back to Shirou and Merlin with a huff. Bedivere ignored Merlin and Shirou and stood with her back to them until they left.

"I think you made her mad." Shirou said as they reached the door of Merlin's tower.

Merlin laughed once again. "Haha! Fear not, it was a small price to pay to see her in such a state was it not? I found it rather adorable." He replied.

Shirou's lips curled into a grin. "Maybe you're right." He muttered as he let Merlin lead him into his tower where he would no doubt spend a good while with the old magus.


	31. The Hidden Knight Returns

ACT XXXI – The Hidden Knight Returns

Over the next couple of days Shirou spent little time at home. In fact he was only home to sleep, the remainder of the day was spent training with his various tutors.

Merlin's magical training stressed his mind and his magic circuits to their limit. Merlin swiftly determined that Shirou's circuits were terrible, dried out like a raisin from lack of use, and Shirou would never be able to do any kind of advanced magic. His only hope was to maximize his potential at projecting swords.

Through Merlin, he had gotten used to the projection process and using the basics of physically forging a blade as his reference. The blades he could now forge were nearly perfect and could take much more of a beating than their previous incarnations. They wouldn't be nearly as powerful, but they still had some of their original bite. There one taboo though, Merlin said, was that he must never project Excalibur. He was very surprised when Shirou told him that he had been "borrowing" Arondight on occasion.

"A weapon like that belongs to the knight using it. To them, it would be like taking away their very soul, do you understand?" Merlin said through a rather disappointed expression. "The sword and the knight are one, just as a sword is one with its sheath. It would be like me lopping off your arm and then using it as a weapon."

"I-I see…" Shirou mumbled. He felt a tinge of pain in his heart, like a knot had been tied in his chest. He had paraded Arondight around in front of Lancelot during their last fight, he must have been furious but didn't show it.

"I shall make an exception in Arondight's case as I believe its user has already lost a part of himself…" Merlin replied, his voice dragging off.

"What do you think he and Guinevere are doing now?" Shirou asked.

"I imagine they are in hiding, for fear of the King's wrath." Merlin replied after scratching his beard.

"That's too sad of an existence…" Shirou mumbled.

"There you and I agree. However let me tell you something. For one to have happiness, so another must suffer." Merlin said.

"I don't think that's right. I'm aiming for a world where everyone can smile and have happiness." Shirou replied.

"Hm, you wish for the impossible. Walking such a path will only lead to your destruction." Merlin scoffed.

"If that's what it takes for everyone to be happy." Shirou replied casually.

"Fool, you wish to be a martyr? What then? Even if you perish, even if you think you have accomplished your goal, everyone will not be happy. The loved ones you leave behind will mourn your loss, they will certainly not be happy." Merlin shot back.

Merlin shot down Shirou's hopes and ideals. Naturally, Shirou became angry. He and Merlin argued for several more minutes before Shirou stormed out of the tower. His head was fuming and he could swear fumes were rising out of his ears. He hadn't had a lesson with Merlin for a day.

His training with Arturia, started the day after his first. It would be conducted in the war room, a room Shirou didn't even realize they had in the castle. It turns out there was a hallway in the west wing of the castle inside a door. Inside the war room itself there was a large rectangular table, the table and walls were covered with maps. Inside the room stood Arturia.

"You are here early, Shirou." She mentioned casually.

"So are you. Merlin was done with me early today." He replied, the argument with Merlin still fresh in his mind.

Arturia placed a hand on her hip and looked quizzically at the map on the table. "I am trying to discern where Morgana's army will attack from."

Shirou walked forward and leaned over the table, looking at the map alongside Arturia.

"Shouldn't someone like Sir Bedivere or one of the other knights be here instead of me? I mean, I'm just a squire." Shirou said nervously.

"Think of it as another way to assist Sir Bedivere. Now then." She turned her attention back to the map on the table. "They could come from any direction but south, but the only way to access the castle is this path." Arturia points her finger on Camelot on the map, and drags her finger along the hill that Shirou was very familiar with.

"You would have to go through the village. They would tear it apart!" Shirou exclaimed.

"Indeed, but I do not believe their target is the village. I believe they would seek minimal damage to the village if possible. You cannot rule if your subjects have been killed." Arturia replied.

"It matters not, I am here to teach you, not ask you advice." Arturia said with a sight after about a minute of silence.

Arturia's training mainly consisting of constructing scenarios on the map, and then asking Shirou what the best course of action would be. Of course, Shirou's answers were mostly wrong and Arturia didn't hesitate to tell him that he'd just sent several hundred men to their deaths. She said that even though they were training, he should treat his failures as if they were real.

"Shirou, if I may have a moment." Arturia stopped Shirou from leaving just after the training session had ended.

"Of course, what do you need?" Shirou stopped at the door and turned to face Arturia.

"I wish to know what you think of your life here thus far." Arturia mumbled.

In his head, Shirou smiled brightly. This was the proof he had that the King did indeed care. Before, Shirou thought that maybe she was coldhearted, keeping him alive merely to use him. But after he became a squire he suspected that Arturia saw him in the same light as one of her most trusted knights.

Shirou grinned. "Are you worried about me?"

Shirou saw Arturia twitch slightly at his question. "I simply wish to know if you are finding your new life well. As I am the one that gave it to you, it is my responsibility if you are not satisfied…" She said after puffing out her cheeks.

Shirou didn't even need to think about it. Not any more. "I'm satisfied. Of course I do miss a lot of my hometown, but all my regrets are gone."

Arturia nodded, satisfied. "I am happy to hear you say that." She replied with a smile.

"I owe you and Merlin my life. That's a debt I don't think I can every pay back. Without happening upon those two soldiers that brought me to you, I would have probably either bled out or starved to death." Shirou said, his eyes looking directly into Arturia's.

"Do not concern yourself with your debt. All I want from you is for you to continue as you are, serve as you have been." Arturia said, looking back at Shirou a faint smile crossed her lips. A reassuring smile.

Shirou nodded. "I will."

"Very good. Now if you will please come with me, I believe that he should be here." She walked up to Shirou and opened the door to the war room.

"He, you say…?" Shirou mumbled as he followed her out of the war room and back towards the throne room.

"Your archery and mounted combat teacher." Arturia clarified as she opened the door to the throne room to find a man standing with Sir Galahad and Sir Gawain.

"It is good to have you back, Sir Tristan." Arturia greeted him as an old friend as she and Shirou approached the other knights.

"Tristan? You mean…?" Shirou exclaimed.

The man turned around to face them revealing that he was indeed the Tristan that Shirou knew from the 7th Legion. He looked just the same as before, bow slung across his back along with a quiver full of white feathered arrows.

"A war looms on the horizon and my King himself gives me a direct order to return. I cannot exactly refuse such an order." He said casually, then turned to Shirou. "It seems like we will be on the battlefield together again. I look forward to it."

"Y-You never told me you were a knight!" Shirou exclaimed in surprise.

"You never asked." Replied Tristan with a grin. "Well, we should get started then. If you will excuse us your Majesty." Tristan said with a bow.

Arturia nodded and gave both Shirou and Tristan leave to go to the archery range in the training hard. It was nothing sophisticated, merely a line of targets in the grass with a weapon rack much like the other training grounds.

"First, show me how much you know." Tristan said when the two of them arrived at the station.

"Sure." Shirou grabbed a bow and a quiver from the weapon rack. Shirou picked a target, the nearest one should do. It had been so long since he'd held a bow, but once he knocked the arrow on the string the memories came flooding back like he'd just shot an arrow yesterday. Shirou squared his stance and pulled the bowstring back and after aiming at the target prepared to let the arrow fly.

"AHH!" From Shirou's left, he heard Tristan scream in his ear at the top of his lungs. Shirou was so surprised he twitched slightly and let the arrow go.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Shirou shot back and rubbed his ear which was now ringing horribly.

"Observing how you would do with a distraction. It seems you did not disappoint." Tristan's finger pointed towards the target.

Shirou was baffled. Not only did he hit the target, but it was only off dead center by a few inches. He still had the knack for it, it seems.

"You had it perfectly when you became startled, and you did not jump that much even with such a loud noise." Tristan grinned and put his hands on his hips. "I would send you into battle right now with that kind of skill. However I am not just supposed to evaluate your skill on the ground. I want to see how well you hit moving and stationary targets from atop a horse." He explained.

Tristan told Shirou to bring his own bow and arrows and meet Tristan near the edge of the forest outside the village on horseback. Shirou didn't have a bow, or any arrows or anything else for that matter. He'd have to visit the armory, but before that he had an idea.

He had never tried to project anything other than a sword since he'd been here because Merlin told him that he should stick with what he knew. However perhaps it was time to push passed that, maybe Merlin was wrong. Well, if he wasn't then Shirou would die. His dad always told him that magi were close to death every time they cast magic. If that's the case, than Shirou should be prepared.

Shirou flipped the switch on his magic circuits and pictured in his mind the bow he used to use at school. Shirou closed his eyes and felt his circuits straining, it was almost a burning sensation. Shirou kept going and soon he clutched the bow in his hand. Making an arrow was simple and easy, he felt as much pressure as he did making a sword. The bow caused some strain but after it was projected he felt fine.

"I guess that's my limit, but at least it's something." Shirou mumbled. After that he slung the bow over his back and retrieved Hikari from the castle stables and headed down the hill. It would probably take him about half an hour to reach the edge of town. Luckily Tristan wasn't too far ahead of him so he wouldn't have to wait that long.

He couldn't believe it when he found out Tristan was a knight. Well, it shouldn't be that big of a surprise considering how good in a fight he is. Shirou also didn't know much about him, he wondered why Tristan was with the Legion rather than with the other knights. Shirou then remembered the conversation he overheard with Sir Bedivere, Sir Gawain, and Sir Galahad.

"_It will be hard to convince him to leave that woman of his…"_

Shirou scratched his chin, he wondered if that had anything to do with it.

Shirou reached the edge of the forest about the time he'd estimated.

"Glad you could make it." Tristan waved as Shirou trotted up on his horse. "The sun is against us so let us get started."

Tristan began to explain that he would train Shirou to shoot moving targets as well as stationary targets from the back of a horse. He also said that to do this he must be one with his horse, he had to feel how Hikari's muscles move underneath him and learn how to anticipate and control it.

Tristan demonstrating this by riding his own horse without holding onto the reins, merely controlling it with his own movements in the muscles in his legs. It was an amazing sight. Horse and rider were completely one with one another. Shirou looked down at Hikari, he was about to learn how to do the same.

Next came target practice where Tristan would call targets and then Shirou would attempt to hit the targets while urging Hikari into a gallop. Needless to say, Shirou fell off multiple times unable to keep his balance as Hikari turned sharply. By the end of the session he'd received numerous bruises and cuts from sticks and rocks on the ground. Shirou was determined though, each time he fell he didn't hesitate to get right back on his horse. Shirou also had some difficulty at hitting the targets that Tristan called, they were small things like a knot on a tree. He was never off by much, but he needed to learn to aim with Hikari's speed better.

By the time they had finished nearly all of Shirou's body was sore from the bruises. It didn't hurt badly per se but it certainly made drawing a bow uncomfortable. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon.

"That'll do for today, I want to get home before dark." Tristan grabbed the reins of his horse.

"Hey, Tristan?" Shirou called as he was about to ride off ahead of him.

"Yes?" Tristan slowed his horse and looked back.

"Are you married? I heard the other knights talking about something like that." Shirou asked hesitantly.

Tristan bit his lip, as if struggling for an answer. "There is a person that has my heart, but we are not betrothed." His voice sounded almost painful. "The only reason that I am here is because the King promised her protection."

"You don't like to be far away from her, do you?" Shirou asked.

"A single league is too far…" Tristan mumbled.

The rest of the ride back into Camelot was spent in silence. It was dark by the time he got back and Tristan had long since went his own way. He learned a little about Tristan today and thought about what he had said. The one he loved was here under the King's protection, but what was it that she needed protection from? Was Tristan in danger as well?

He took Hikari and tied him to the post outside his house and gave him a pat on the side of the neck.

"I don't know what kind of future awaits for us, but let's get there together." He said.

Inside his house he removed his shirt to look at the damage. His entire upper body and his legs were specked with dark blue bruises and tiny cuts that didn't bleed but were enough to be uncomfortable. He felt sore all over and he just fell into bed. The training took a toll on him, but he knew where there was pain there would also be strength. He might hurt more, but he would get stronger because of it. It wasn't long before Shirou drifted off to sleep, knowing the battle ahead of him would be long but he was prepared to follow his King and his fellow Knights all the way through it.


	32. Return of the 7th Legion

ACT XXXII – Return of the 7th Legion

_Time until Mordred's army reaches Camelot: 2 days._

Over the past two days Camelot became a bustling town now filled mostly with soldiers. Messengers had been flooding to and from the town sending and receiving situation reports from scouts, and other soldiers being called back to Camelot for the defense.

Arturia was doing her best to delegate affairs but even she was becoming tired. Even Merlin was doing his part, Shirou had seen him all over both the castle and the town itself checking enchantments and barriers that were apparently already there. From the way it seemed, there were was a very large magical barrier surrounding the castle to prevent most kinds of magical assault.

Arturia decreed that before the coming assault, it would be wise for any citizens who are able to evacuate to do so and left Sir Gawain in charge of a small group of soldiers to escort them to a village on the southern coast. The other knights would stay behind and assist in the defense.

Shirou walked into the war room in the castle where Arturia was usually at. She stood in the center of the room leaning over the large map of the country with a tired expression on her face. She had bags under her eyes, indicating that she hadn't been sleeping.

"Sir Gawain and the evacuees just left. A lot less people left than we thought. I guess a lot of the villagers are just stubborn." Shirou reported.

"Some of them have nowhere else to go, their whole life is here. Something like that is worth the risk of dying is it not? They are like us, willing to fight for what they want to protect rather than run to safety." Arturia replied.

"You should get some rest, you look terrible." Shirou says while purposefully stepping in Arturia's reading light.

"I will rest when my tasks are complete. I still have much to do."

"I also have something I need to do, and I still have my training with Sir Bedivere. I'll be back to see how you're doing after that." Shirou turned to leave. He was worried about her, a King needs his rest too after all. He wouldn't allow her to be exhausted on the eve of battle, even if he had to get Bedivere to tie her to her own bed.

"Thank you for worrying about me." Arturia muttered quietly.

Shirou heaved a sigh. "I'm worried about everyone. Everyone is doing their best; I'm going to do my best too." He replied as he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Shirou entered the hall outside the war room and made his way towards the large, wooden double doors leading to the courtyard where two soldiers were standing guard.

The sound of soldiers practicing filled his ears as he stepped out into the afternoon air. The training ground has been filled with men sharpening their skills for the upcoming battle. Sir Galahad was probably back there with them.

Shirou made his way to the knight's stables to retrieve his horse, who had been growing quite strong since he came under Shirou's care. Inside the stable was the same as ever, except today Sir Bedivere was inside cleaning her horse's hooves with a knife. She was bent over with one of the horse's legs clenched between her own as she picked at the heel with her knife. She heard Shirou approach and looked up.

"Good afternoon Shirou." She greeted him with a warm smile. It was her that taught Shirou how to properly clean his horse. At first he didn't know the first thing about taking care of a horse, but Bedivere put up with his inexperience and taught him. Even children here knew how to take care of a horse.

"Good afternoon, I see you're cleaning him again today." Shirou replied.

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, I have had much to do so I was unable to clean his hooves yesterday. Where are you off to? We still have your training today."

"Just checking on someone, I shouldn't be gone too long." Shirou said as he grabbed Hikari's saddle and prepared to put it on him.

"Those two village girls?" Bedivere asked with a small sigh.

"They didn't leave town with Sir Gawain, I want to make sure they're safe." Shirou finished saddling his horse and jumped on.

Bedivere finished cleaning the hoof she was working on and let it slip from her grip. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "You had better not miss your training because of them." She puffed her cheeks.

"Don't worry, I'll be back." Shirou urged his horse out of the stables and down the hill towards town.

The part of town where the castle was held seemed relatively empty, most of the people that lived near the castle that were nobles and such had been evacuated. Shirou reached Geoff's bakery, the smell of freshly baked bread permeated the air.

Shirou entered the store and saw Lina standing at the counter, looking incredibly bored. Her eyes perked up when she saw Shirou enter the store.

"Shirou!" Lina vaulted over the counter and barreled into Shirou's chest. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Hello, Lina." Shirou patted her head.

"Oi, Lina! What is going on out here?" Geoff bellowed and poked his head out of the back room. His face curled into a toothy grin when he saw Shirou and then he dipped back into the room.

"Elise, ye got a visitor." His booming voice could probably be heard even outside the walls of the shop.

Shirou managed to peel Lina off of him as Elise stepped out of the back wearing an apron over a brown dress. Her eyebrows furrowed and she put her hands on her hips.

"I was wondering if you would ever make time to see us again. It has been some time since we have last spoken." Elise said with a huff.

"I haven't had a lot of free time since I've been a squire to Sir Bedivere you know…" Shirou scratched the back of his head.

"Hmph, I have noticed." Elise brushed her fingers through her hair.

"Elise, I am sure he has tried. Right, Shirou?" Lina looked up at him.

"Y-Yeah… but I came here to ask you why you didn't evacuate with Sir Gawain and the other villagers." Shirou replied.

"I am not going anywhere!" Geoff bellowed from the kitchen. "Ye can take my girls with you though." He added.

"Father we are not going anywhere without you!" Elise shot back.

"You won't have to. When the fighting starts we're going to open the keep to whoever wants to take refuge inside. I just came by to let you know that." Shirou reassured them.

"Aye. That'll do. Ye've thought of everything haven't you?" Geoff said as he came in from the back room.

"We've been working hard to make sure everyone's going to be safe." Shirou replied and turned towards the door. He still had a lot to do, but it did put his mind at ease that he knew Geoff and the girls were going to be safe.

"Leaving so soon?" Elise crossed her arms.

"I still have to train with Sir Bedivere today, but I'll be back in a day or so."

"Really? Do you promise?" Lina said excitedly.

Shirou nodded. "Yeah, I promise." He said as he made his way out the door.

"You had better keep it Shirou! I am going to beat you up if you do not!" Elise called after him.

()()()

_Mordred's Camp_

_Time until siege: 24 hours_

Through his tent, Mordred could still smell the smoke in the air. His army had recently sacked a small town on the river. It was an easy, pointless battle. The soldiers guarding the village fought bravely, but they were facing an army. Soon the town was burned and pillaged, the bodies of civilians and soldiers alike littered the streets.

Mordred's soldiers were little more than barbarians, gathered from all corners of the Kingdom and made to serve him through various unsavory methods. Although Morgana had made them unquestioningly loyal, they knew little of how to manage an army even if they took orders well enough. Mordred didn't even bother to learn their names. When all this was over and he was sitting on the throne, he would have them all exterminated anyway so it mattered little. He didn't need savages in his kingdom.

Most of his time was spent in his tent in silence, only broken when Morgana gave him advice through a small mirror. His men were outside following their orders, looting food and weapons, and piling the dead bodies and burning them.

"How goes the march, my son?" Mordred heard a familiar voice coming from a small pouch.

"We should reach Camelot within the next couple of days, Mother." Mordred answered back and retrieved the mirror. In its reflective surface was the face of Morgana.

"Very good. How are my… gifts?" Morgana asked with a toothy grin.

Mordred got to his feet and pushed aside the entrance flaps, he looked outside where several wooden cages stood. The boxes were fully enclosed and were the gifts that Morgana was referring to. Horrible noises were coming from inside, guttural growling and scratching could be heard throughout the camp. Whatever was inside was sometimes so violent that the box would rock back and forth as the creature howled.

The box itself was about eight feet tall and equally as wide. The lid of the box was incredibly heavy, lined on the inside with thick iron plates which took about four men just to lift open and twice as many to carry. It was transported on a wooden platform with four large wheels so it didn't have to be lifted constantly.

Several soldiers had opened the top of the large box and threw the body of a villager inside. As the man was preparing to close the box, something large and as thick as the trunk of a tree shot out and enclosed its hand completely around the man's head. The man and the soldiers holding up the top of the box screamed horribly. The grabbed man was pulled halfway inside while the others fell flat on their backs, slamming the top of the box down with a metallic noise that sounded like a clap of thunder.

A loud crunch was heard as the man's screaming intensified, blood flowed like a river from the spot where the lid shut. The man's torso fell to the ground, staining the grass with the blood flowing forth from it. The screaming inside the box continued as the creature inside roared with pleasure. The crate began rocking back and forth as the terrible noise continued for what felt like ages but in reality was only a few seconds. The screaming was ended by a particularly loud crunch as though something bit through a large amount of bone.

After that the camp fell silent. Soldiers watched in horror, afraid to move for fear of provoking the creature inside the crate.

Mordred frowned and heaved a sigh before responding to his mother's question. "…Hungry."

()()()

Shirou and Bedivere clashed, their blades flashing in the sunlight as they dueled one another. Sweat covered their brows and in their clashes Shirou got so close to Bedivere that he could smell her. It smelled faintly sweet and made his thoughts cloudy, his mind drifted off elsewhere for a split second, which was all Bedivere needed to kick him to the ground.

Shirou fell flat on his back, the breath knocked from his lungs.

"Are you all right?" Bedivere sheathed her sword and offered her hand.

Shirou took it and let Bedivere pull him to his feet. Sometimes he forgot how strong she really was. "I'm not hurt."

"That is not what I meant." Bedivere put her hands on her hips. "You seem distracted."

Shirou wiped the sweat from his forehead. "My thoughts are a mess. Between the upcoming fight, the King, and the villagers it's difficult to focus."

"You are worrying too much Shirou. Believe me when I say that you are not the only one." Bedivere walked to a nearby bench and offered Shirou the seat next to her.

Shirou took it to catch his breath. "That makes me feel a little bit better…"

"Everyone is in the same position, all of our minds are taxed in preparation for the upcoming battle. You need not take on so much responsibility yourself, you are but one person in the King's service." Bedivere replied with a warm smile.

"What do you think I should do? I don't know if I can fight a war…"

"You can, I can see it in you. You should just do what you think is right. If nothing else, know that I have faith in you." Bedivere placed her hand reassuringly on Shirou's shoulder. She hesitated at first, not knowing herself if she had any right to touch him. He seemed surprised, but didn't shrug her hand off.

"Bedivere, I…"

*SPLASH!*

Before he could reply a torrent of freezing cold water was poured over his body. Instantly cooling his head and washing the sweat from his body. It would have felt a lot nicer if it wasn't so cold.

Bedivere looked just as surprised as he did. Somehow three people had managed to sneak up on the two of them, one of which was holding a bucket over Shirou's head. All three of whom began to laugh loudly.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Bedivere growled angrily at the three soldiers.

Shirou looked to see that the three men were Tristan, Gilbert, and Judeau. "You three…" He shivered as he shook the cold water off of his body.

"Apologies Sir Knight. I did not interrupt anything important did I?" Tristan asked with a grin.

"All in good fun Sir Knight. Gilbert and I only just got here, we could not resist." Judeau chuckled.

"It is not like it was hard to sneak up on you two anyway, staring all googly-eyed at each other like you were." Gilbert said with a smirk.

Bedivere grew red in the face. "How dare you say such nonsense! We were doing no such thing!" She exclaimed.

"Whatever you say." Gilbert replied with an exaggerated shrug.

"Are the rest of the Legion here too?" Shirou asked.

"Aye, they're camped outside the west end of town, Brom is meeting with the King as we speak." Gilbert replied.

"It will be an honor to fight next to you both again." Judeau said with a friendly smile.

"If the 7th Legion is here then we must go and meet them as well." Bedivere turned to Shirou.

Shirou nodded and stood up from the bench. "You're right."

"The meeting should be just about done. I will go with you as well." Tristan replied.

The group made their way towards the main gate of the castle where a couple of standing guards opened the gates as they approached. They entered the castle and made their way through the entry hall now filled with soldiers, a few of them bearing the insignia of the 7th Legion. Tristan opened the door to the War Room where the meeting was being held.

"My Lord, I have returned with Sir Bedivere and Shirou." Tristan announced.

The room was filled with soldiers bearing the Legion's insignia. Surrounding the map table in the center was the King herself, Sir Galahad, and Brom the commander of the Legion. They all looked up as Shirou and the others approached.

"Good, come in. We are finalizing the battle plan." Arturia greeted them formally and offered them a place around the table.

"I've camped my men here." Brom points to the northwest of the village. "If Mordred's army decides to conduct their siege from this way, they'll have to go through my camp. It should act as a deterrent." He explained.

"Our scouts have confirmed they'll be attacking directly from the north." Arturia points to the location.

"Until now they've been hiding in the forests. Now they're parading out in the open." Shirou crossed his arms. "Whatever they're doing, they want people to see it."

"True, Le Fay is normally behind in the shadows. Perhaps she believes she has the strength to finally take the throne." Tristan suggested.

"Surely you jest." Brom scoffed. "Impossible with that meager amount of barbarians Le Fay has paid off, she is a bigger fool that I thought if she thinks she can take Camelot with such a meager force."

"Morgana le Fay and her ilk must not be taken lightly." Arturia narrowed her eyes at Brom. "We must prepare as much as possible and expect anything to happen."

"For now, we should consider focusing on fortifying our defenses. We have little time to do so. While we sit here debating, Mordred and his army grows ever closer." Bedivere suggested.

"I agree." Arturia nodded and turned to Brom. "Let your men get some rest. We shall all meet again on the day of the siege. Until then, I suggest you take care of whatever matters you need to."

"Then, if you'll excuse me." Brom bowed and signaled for Gilbert and Judeau to follow him, the two of them had been standing quietly with the other guards. They were mere soldiers, as such they didn't have much of a say in what was going on.

Once outside the War Room, Judeau and Gilbert turned towards Shirou. "You should stop by the camp later, we're having a bonfire." Judeau announced.

"A bonfire? What for?" Shirou asked.

"Well, we found a witch so we're going to have a party." Gilbert replied with a toothy grin.

"…" Shirou frowned.

Upon Shirou's reaction the two men began to laugh hysterically.

"It's a joke! Is everyone from the future that sour?" Gilbert said with a boisterous guffaw.

Judeau hit Shirou on the back, which he had to reach up slightly to do since he was so short. "We do it to improve the men's morale. Sit down, drink, eat, tell stories, that sort of thing."

Shirou thought the joke about the witch was in bad taste, but he guessed he shouldn't judge the sense of humor of others, particularly in a time period in which he wasn't a native. He didn't know if all the soldiers in the Legion were as eccentric as this or if these two were just the exception. Then again, it would be a good opportunity to get to know some of the men he would be fighting with on the battlefield.

"Yeah, I think I will."

"Good, bring Tristan with you too if you can." Judeau requested. It seemed like Tristan was well received with the Legion, and it didn't seem like it was just because he was a knight of the Round Table. Shirou made a note to ask him about it later the next time he had some free time.

()()()

_7__th__ Legion Forward Camp_

_Estimated time until attack: ?_

"Get the hell up!" Shirou was jolted awake by a sharp kick in the ribs. He sat up to find Brom standing over him.

Shirou scratched his head. "What time is it? How come I don't remember anything that happened last night?" He looked around, he was on the ground near the smoldering remains of a large fire pit that had long since been extinguished. The sky was dark and looked like it could begin to erupt with rain at any given moment. A rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Because apparently a young boy can hold his alcohol better than you. Now get to your feet! The army is here!" Brom shouted.

"What!?"


	33. Before the Storm

ACT XXXIII – Before the Storm

Brom parted ways with Shirou as he had to return to his men to coordinate the defense. Shirou needed to run to his house and grab his sword and armor, which he had left there before going to the Legion's Camp the night before. He was still in shock at the news, he no longer cared about the events of the night before. His mind was focused only on the path set before him now, he needed to help defend the city from its attackers.

Everywhere he turned he saw soldiers hustling about, checking the houses for civilians to be ushered away for protection. Shirou reached his home in record time and threw on his armor and weapon as fast as he could and retrieve his horse. Kicking his horse in the ribs he urged him into a gallop and began to race through the city.

Making it to the castle, Shirou wasted no time and burst through the front gates and rushed through the castle to the throne room where he was told to go and meet the others.

The King was there as well as Brom, Merlin and all of the Knights minus Gawain. The King was clad in her armor and wearing a crown atop her head, she looked as fierce as a lion and was ready for battle herself. As Shirou approached he could hear her issuing commands to them. She raised her head as Shirou approached and greeted him.

"I found him your Majesty." Brom reported with a bow.

"Good." Arturia said with a nod. "Sir Tristan you will be on the walls commanding the archers and our other weapons."

Shirou listened intently as the King delegated orders. It was at this time he almost forgot that she was a girl. She looked so imposing ordering men around like an experienced general, because she was an experienced general. A part of him felt like this was wrong, watching a girl do all of this. In the back of his mind, he wanted to keep her from doing any fighting if possible. He figured that was everyone's goal, to keep the enemy as far away from her as possible. Everyone felt like he did, even though he was one of the only people who knew Arturia's secret.

"Shirou, you will be in the vanguard with Sir Bedivere and the 7th Legion." Arturia ordered.

"I won't let you down." Shirou replied sternly. His heart was racing in his chest. He was about to enter a battle, a large one at that. His brain wasn't working properly from the shock of the situation. Right now, he could think of nothing more than keeping everyone he cared about alive.

"Sir Galahad will command the cavalry." Arturia delegated her final order. "Everyone, to your positions."

To Shirou's surprise, Arturia began to follow him and Sir Bedivere.

"Where are you going?" Shirou asked when he noticed.

"I am taking command of the ground forces myself. Do you have some problem with my decision?" Arturia replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I do. What happens if you get killed?"

"Your concern is appreciated but not needed. I have fought countless battles in the past, you know this." She replied.

"But-"

"I will hear no more. I would not be much of a King if I did not join my men in defending my own keep." Her eyes narrowed at Shirou and then began to walk faster than both Shirou and Bedivere.

Bedivere slowed her pace to match Shirou's. "You are full of hypocrisy." She said with a frown. "You have no problems when I fight, but for the King to is wrong to you."

"…" Shirou couldn't say anything back. She was right. "You aren't concerned when she fights?" He asked.

Bedivere pursed her lips and gave Shirou a confusing look. "I am afraid that is a troubling question." Bedivere muttered as she and Shirou passed through the front gates of the castle and into the courtyard. Soldiers in full battle gear were rushing every which way, some heading for the walls, others heading for the front lines just as Bedivere and Shirou were. The skies above were grey, the sky could not be seen through the dense black clouds. The moisture hung on the air and Shirou could smell the rain that was undoubtedly going to fall very soon, in the distance thunder rumbled.

"Now is not the time to speak of such things, we must get to our horses and join the King." Bedivere picked up her pace and raced towards the stables to catch up with Arturia. Shirou jogged after her and entered the stables. Most of the horses were already gone, and Shirou spotted Arturia on a bright white stallion already on her way down the hill to meet with the 7th Legion. Inside the stable most of the horses were already gone and Bedivere was already mounting hers, the castle's stable hand must have already saddled the horses so Shirou merely had to jump on his horse and grab the reins.

Shirou and Bedivere quickly made their way down the hill and entered the streets of the town. In it he saw civilians being led away by soldiers. It eased Shirou's heart knowing that if anything, his friends would be safe if the battle made its way into town. A sudden noise caught Shirou's attention and turned his head to see a soldier in full armor be tossed across the street out of the baker.

"Don't tell me…"

A hulk of a man came striding out of the house in an apron, his fists clenched so tightly they looked more like two wrecking balls at the ends of his arms, veins protruded throughout his arms and neck. Holding onto his waist being dragged behind him were two young girls.

"I'M NOT RUNNING LIKE SOME MILK DRINKING COWARD! YE CAN TAKE MY GIRLS BUT I'M STAYING!" Geoff roared with a voice that sounded like the roar of a thousand bears. Shirou had expected something like this, he was too proud a man to let the soldiers come in and take him. Geoff was the kind of man who would run onto the battlefield by himself if need be. The only thing stopping him appeared to be Lina and Elise pleading at his sides.

"I am not going to leave without you Father! Please come with us!" Elise pleaded with her father, her eyes welling up with tears.

"You can't leave us!" Lina echoed, grabbing tightly at Geoff's apron.

Geoff walked out into the middle of the street and turned to Shirou's direction. "OI, SHIROU!" He bellowed loudly. "GET MY GIRLS OUT OF HERE!"

Bedivere's eyes practically bulged out of her head. "Do you know that man?" She asked.

Shirou scratched the back of his head. "Y-Yeah he's a friend of mine. Why?"

"I am thinking of taking him with us…" Bedivere said as if thinking to herself.

The two of them approached Geoff, Lina, and Elise.

"Ah good, finally some competent warriors!" Geoff boomed once the two of them approached.

"Shirou, please try and talk some sense into Father!" Elise pleaded.

Shirou frowned and looked at Bedivere. "I don't like this idea."

Bedivere turned sideways and tilted her head. "Do you wish to try and talk him out of fighting?"

Shirou looked back at Geoff, who's skin was practically steaming with heat. Although he'd calmed down a bit once he saw Shirou, he still looked like he was ready to punch a house in half. Shirou believed he could do it, too.

"You there! I have the perfect outlet for that strength!" Bedivere called out to Geoff.

Geoff ruffled his beard and turned his head. "You are one of the Knights. If you are trying to convince me to leave my home, then I am afraid that you will not succeed. Not even God Himself could move me!" He stated proudly.

"I want to do the opposite. I want you to fight with us." Bedivere stated plainly.

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU, I WILL NOT- what?"

Shirou said nothing. It wasn't a bad solution, even if he didn't agree with it he could see where Bedivere was coming from. If Geoff could not be dissuaded from fighting, then Shirou would keep him close on the battlefield and make sure that he was protected properly. It was better than leaving him here at any rate if he could not be made to go with the rest of the civilians.

"What are you saying? You want my Father to fight with you?" Elise sniffed. Her face went from terrified at her father leaving to wide eyed with amazement. She seemed torn between the fact that her father could die on the battlefield, to the fact that he would be fighting alongside the King and other Knights.

"I know what you're feeling. But I can protect him out there." Shirou spoke up.

"Shirou is correct. He could be of much use to us on the battlefield." Bedivere said.

"Hmm." Geoff uttered a sigh that was more like a low growl erupting from the pit of his massive chest.

"Father! You're not going to do it are you?" Elise looked up at him.

"Will you promise me that my girls will be safe?" He asked, looking Bedivere square in the eyes.

"You have my word." Bedivere replied.

"Geoff… don't leave us. Don't leave me." Lina pleaded.

"Girls…" Geoff bent down and put a hand on each of the girl's shoulders. "I have decided to go with them. I can rebuild my shop, I can rebuild our homes, but I cannot rebuild the two of you." Geoff pulled them close and hugged them, the two girls nearly disappeared into his arms.

"Lina. I have tried to be a good father to you after what happened to your parents. I have always thought of you as my second daughter. I have only wished that you would think of me as your father as well." Geoff continued. "Elise, you have grown so much and have become a fine woman. While I am gone, you are in charge of the bakery. I know you can do it, just remember everything I have taught you and try to not get into so much trouble."

"You had better promise to come back." Elise growled through her tears. "You too, Shirou!"

Geoff released the two girls from his embrace and stood up. "It will take more than a few tiny soldiers to hurt your old man!" He bellowed and puffed out his chest, striking it with his fist.

"Are you prepared?" Bedivere asked. She and Shirou had been watching the scene before them unfold. Shirou had a troubled expression on his face while Bedivere remained serious and expressionless.

"Just one more thing." Geoff requested that they wait while a soldier took Lina and Elise away towards the castle as Geoff went into the bakery and into the back room. What he came back out with surprised everyone.

Geoff stepped back through the doorway wielding two of the largest war hammers that either Shirou or Bedivere had ever seen. The hafts alone must have been six feet in length. The heads of the weapons looked to be made out of solid blocks of bright steel that looked to be two feet long and six inches thick. Geoff wielded the double headed hammers with ease and they looked to be custom made for him. They looked so large that Shirou doubted he could even lift one.

Geoff stood for a moment and looked at his hammers as if reuniting with old friends. "I had hoped that I would never have to use these again."

"Those hammers…" Bedivere exclaimed. "Do they not belong to-"

"Why are we just standing around? Do we not have somewhere to be?" Geoff asked, heaving the hammers up on his shoulders, purposefully interrupting Bedivere.

"Y-Yes, of course." The normally stoic Bedivere was flustered for a moment. She then cleared her throat and returned to her senses.

"Are you sure about this? You can still go back now." Shirou said to Geoff as the three of them began to make their way toward the front lines.

"HA! I could never allow myself to hide in some castle while the people who would destroy my life and family are on my doorstep! Those who run and hide from the enemy are just as likely to be killed by them as those who stand and fight! Would you rather not stand and defend those that cannot defend themselves?" Geoff bellowed.

Bedivere gave a satisfied nod. "That is well said. It will be an honor to fight next to you on the battlefield."

"Honor? I care not for honor, I do not help you for honor, I am here for my family." Geoff stomped the ground, leaving a crack in it.

"That's a good enough reason for me." Shirou replied.

The three of them arrived on the outskirts of town where the Legion's camp was, they circled around the outskirts of the city until they finally reached the outer ranks of the army. The soldiers raised their weapons into the sky and cheered at their arrival.

"Hail, Sir Bedivere!"

The soldiers moved aside and allowed them to pass to the front of the army where the King and the other knights were waiting. It appeared that Brom was there too, talking with Arturia. Across from then the enemy army clad in black iron armor stood across the field from them. Siege weapons were being built out of wood and every so often there was a large wooden box standing amongst the men. The boxes were huge, Shirou couldn't even begin to imagine what might be in them, they were way too big to be just supplies. From their ranks appeared a single man on a horse, carrying the enemy standard.

"It seems they want to discuss terms." Brom said with a scoff.

"I will meet them myself." Arturia replied.

"We have arrived, I apologize for being late." Bedivere announced their arrival as she, Shirou, and Geoff stood next to them.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry. I had to help a friend." Shirou gestured to Geoff.

Atruria looked down at Geoff, who was without a horse. "And what is your name, friend of Shirou?" She asked.

Geoff bowed. "Geoff, My Lord."

Arturia eyed Geoff's hammers and raise an eyebrow. "I have only heard of one other person who uses weapons like the ones you carry."

Geoff frowned. "That matters not, what matters now is where you need me. I am here to defend my family and my bakery, that is all." He replied sternly.

Arturia raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"My Lord, if it pleases you, I would like to add him to my Legion." Brom spoke up.

"As you wish. I shall return momentarily, I must go and meat their rider." Arturia replied.

"You there! You see those men over there?" Brom shouted at Geoff and pointed.

Shirou grit his teeth. He wasn't sure Geoff would take too well to being shouted at, but surprisingly he didn't react at all.

Geoff nodded. "Aye."

"You're with us now, I expect you to take my orders like a soldier. I don't know who you are, and I don't much care, but I expect the same out of you that I expect from my own men. Do you understand?" Brom explained.

"Aye." Geoff replied.

"Then go stand with those men and await orders." Brom finished and ushered Geoff away among the ranks of infantry soldiers.

"What are those boxes?" Shirou asked as he watched Arturia walk across the field on horseback.

"I do not know, whatever they are, I get an odd feeling about them. I expect we shall find out before this fight has ended." Brom replied.

In the middle of the field between the armies the Arturia and the enemy messenger met. They appeared to speak for a few moments before the two went galloping back to their respective sides.

"What did they want?" Galahad asked.

"They had the nerve to request a surrender." Arturia growled.

Above their heads small drops of rain began to drop on them, making small tinkling noises as they hit the armor and weapons of the soldiers on the battlefield. The drizzle lasted only a few seconds before the sky opened up with a clap of thunder and began to unleash a torrent of rain down upon the armies.

"YOU HAVE HAD YOUR CHANCE! THE TIME FOR MERCY HAS ENDED!" A cry was uttered among the thunder, it was undoubtedly Mordred's voice carrying itself across the wind. He drew his sword and held it aloft.

"ARCHERS PREPARE TO FIRE!" Mordred shouted.

"Should we not be preparing our defenses?" Brom suggested.

"Unnecessary. The arrows will not hit." Arturia said flatly.

"Hm. You are using it already?" Galahad grinned as he drew his own sword.

Shirou drew his sword as well. His hand was shaking and he could barely hold the blade straight. Any words he wished to utter got caught in his throat and he had to force it every time he swallowed. Across the field were several thousand men who wanted nothing more than to see him dead by their own hands. He'd been in danger before, but nothing like this.

Next to Shirou, Bedivere drew her sword. She looked to her right and saw that Shirou's whole body was shaking. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm yourself. Breathe."

Shirou took several deep breaths. He was scared, scared out of his mind. However he thought about the people he left behind, the people he needed to protect. That gave him the strength that he needed to calm himself down and focus his mind. He gripped his sword tightly.

"ARCHERS FIRE!" Mordred ordered.

The very second Mordred's voice rang on the wind Arturia reached to her hip and drew her sword. She held it aloft and a bright flash that wasn't lightning erupted from her sword. Shirou had to cover his eyes to protect himself from being blinded. His mind flashed back to the very flash of light that brought him here in the first place, however this light was different, it felt warm and comforting, it gave him strength.

Arturia had drawn her sword just as the enemy archers fired from the back of their ranks. When the air cleared of light the area around them was strewn with what must have been thousands of arrows sticking straight up out of the ground, not a single arrow had even gotten close to the soldiers. By drawing her sword and making it flash, Arturia effectively blinded the enemy archers and made every shot miss.

Her voice rang out, clear as a bell as she gave the order. The thundering of hooves and feet filled the air and mixed with the thunder in the sky. A great cry rang out from the soldiers behind Shirou and the other knights. Arturia began to urge her horse into a sprint. Brom, Galahad, and Bedivere followed without hesitation.

"HA! HIKARI!" Shirou cried as he kicked his horse and spurred him on with the others. The cry behind him grew louder as the other soldiers and cavalry followed him into battle.

"NO MERCY! CHARGE! FOR YOUR FAMILIES! FOR YOUR HOMES! FOR CAMELOT!" Arturia's voice rang out above all the others as the enemy began to charge as well. They raced towards one another at blinding speed, ready for battle. The rain did nothing to stem the fury of either side, they would crash against each other like the tides themselves.


	34. The Battle for Camelot

ACT XXXIV – The Battle of Camelot

Shirou raised his sword into the air as he followed Arturia and the other knights in the charge. His grip on the reins of his horse and the grip of his horse grew tighter as he neared the enemy army. The sound of the thunder above mixed with the sound of hooves against the grass. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, making the initial charge seem to last forever.

Next to him, Bedivere had a calm look in her face. Her long hair waved in the wind as she rode on her horse. Shirou wondered how many battles she had to see that allowed her to maintain such a calm composure during a charge like that. It was scary to think about. He'd fought next to her before, but occasionally he had to remind himself that she was a very skilled warrior.

Next to Bedivere, Galahad was the opposite. His face held an eager expression, he was eager for battle and bloodshed. His lips had curled into a slight grin. Shirou deduced that being forced to be at the castle for extended periods of time while the other knights were off adventuring, Galahad grew eager for a good fight to sate his pent up aggression. From his mouth he let loose a battle cry that somehow seemed to rise above the cry that the rest of the army was uttering.

Sooner than Shirou realized, the two armies crashed against one another like waves in the ocean. In his life he had never heard a sound quite like that of two armies colliding. Clashes of metal rang through the air like thunder. Still on his horse, Shirou shook his head to get his bearings and bolted at the nearest enemy soldier. Having the advantage on horseback, Shirou plunged his sword into the soldier's weak spot on the small, unprotected sliver of skin under his helmet. A geyser of blood poured from the wound and the man collapsed to the cold, wet ground.

Another soldier with a long spear rushed at Shirou from his right and aimed a jab at him. Shirou swung his arm and parried it but the spearman stood his ground. Jab after jab came as Shirou was forced to keep the tip of the spear away from both him and his horse. His horse under him was getting uneasy and was beginning to back up.

Another spearman came from Shirou's left, eager to get whatever honor there was from killing a would be knight. The two enemies lowered their weapons and came at Shirou at the same time. Shirou pulled on the reins of his horse and turned the horse away from the spear thrusts but these soldiers were no slouches. They knew what he was doing. The one on his left, now in front of him thrust his spear quickly. Shirou's horse uttered a sound that could only be described as a scream and reared up, knocking Shirou off of the back and onto the muddy grass.

The sound rung in his ears as Shirou jumped to his feet to find the soldier's spear imbedded within his mount's throat, blood gushing forth like a river from the wound. The man's lips twisted into a sickening grin as he twisted the spear and thrust it upward. The spear entered the horse's brain and it fell over, dead where it landed.

"NO!" Shirou roared with both rage and sorrow filling him up to the brim. His stomach churned and he felt himself clench his teeth. That horse had been given to him as a gift. He had hoped it would carry him into many more battles before it's time.

Shirou traced Arondight in his free hand and stood before the two spearmen, one of whom was pulling his spear from the corpse of Shirou's horse. The battle around them raged and seemed to form a circle of calm around them. Everyone was occupied with their own battles. This one was Shirou's.

Shirou rushed at them with a speed he didn't even know he had. He wasn't sure if it was Arondight or his own rage driving him, but he did know that these two servants of the enemy would fall to his swords next. There was no time to think about anything but the two men before him.

The left one thrust his spear, Shirou dodged it easily and knocked his spear aside with a strike of his sword, breaking the man's guard and knocking him off balance. With his other sword, Shirou raised it and plunged it through the man's mail armor and into his heart. Quickly ducking to avoid the spear coming from behind him Shirou pulled his blade from the dead soldier's chest and turned to face the other spearman.

The soldier swung his spear at Shirou and it was easily ducked. Compared to Lancelot's or Bedivere's swings, those of the common soldier seemed to come in slow motion. The training had paid off. Coming up from under the blow, Shirou stabbed with both swords and pounced on the spearman like a wild animal and falling to the ground on top of him.

Coming up panting as he withdrew his swords Shirou took a second or two to survey his surroundings. All around him were a sea of soldiers fighting each other. It didn't matter where he looked, someone within his vision was falling down dead on the ground. A little ahead of him he saw a bright light, similar to what Arturia did earlier but not as blinding. It was a beacon, a challenge. At least, that's what Shirou thought. Whatever was going on over there, Shirou would have to fight his way over to find out. Shirou wanted to fight beside his King, he would take the challenge and make his way over there.

Shirou fought his way, tooth and nail, through every yard he took. Everywhere he turned it seemed someone wanted to kill him. What unnerved him more, was that there was nowhere to retreat to anymore. He was near the middle of the battlefield now. How many people had he been forced to kill on the way here? 5? 10? When will it end? The only thing driving him onward was the bright light of Excalibur shining in the distance like the lightning in the sky.

"You there. Kid." Next to him Shirou heard a voice that sounded like a truck engine roaring. Shirou turned to find a huge man standing there with a huge axe. He didn't look like a typical soldier. He wasn't wearing armor but had a cloak made of fur and a beard that would rival even Geoff's

"That is some lovely armor you have." The huge man smiled and took his axe in both hands.

"You don't exactly look like a soldier..." Shirou muttered and raised his guard.

"Eh? Soldier? Nah, I only fight for money not for a lord or a country." The man said, stepping forward slowly.

"Mercenaries?" Shirou uttered to himself.

"RAGH!" The man jumped forward and swung downwards at Shirou. He barely managed to dodge to the side, it was so close he could feel the wind from the axe brushing past him. The huge weapon slammed into the ground and seemed to make the earth shake. That wasn't good, just one hit with that that could cleave Shirou in half. This guy was something else.

With another roar the man heaved his axe out of the ground and swung it horizontally, again Shirou was only barely able to avoid it. The edge of the blade nicked his chin and Shirou could feel the blood now dripping out of the cut. Any closer, and that would have been his life right there.

"Haha! I like it when they run!" The man laughed and followed up his horizontal swing with another vertical one. Shirou dodged to the left as it smashed into the ground again.

It should take him a second to pick up his weapon again for another swing, so Shirou came at the man from the side. He wasn't fast enough. With one great heave the man lifted up the axe and swatted at Shirou with the flat of the blade. Shirou held Arondight out in front of him to help soften the blow that could crush his ribs to dust, even with his armor.

The swing connected and the wind was pushed out of Shirou's lungs, the sword did help, but the projection shattered as it was met with the full force. Shirou collapsed on the ground and tried to catch his breath. He looked down at himself. His armor had a slight dent in it, but otherwise it seemed fine. The place where it was dented though, was pushing against his chest. If he gets hit there again, it would be like hammering in a nail.

The giant man didn't give Shirou a second to rest. He came rushing over in an instant to deliver the final blow. Shirou rolled out of the way and swung his sword from the ground. The man leaned back and dodged and stomped on the dent in Shirou's chest.

It felt like getting hit with a hammer. Shirou barely had any breath left to cough up, the dent in his armor pushed against his abdomen, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Somehow, I expected a bit more. You are just a kid, though." The hulk of a man stood over Shirou and glared down at him. He raised his axe over his head.

Shirou couldn't breathe, and he couldn't seem to put energy into his legs or his arms. He was going to be killed. Right here on this spot. He didn't expect someone this strong to be in their armor. Who was he kidding? He was naive to think such a thing. Of course they would have strong people on the enemy side too. Morgana didn't seem like an idiot after all.

Just as the huge man was about to swing his sword, from his place on the ground Shirou saw the legs of a horse from his vision and suddenly his face was sprayed with blood. Shirou looked up just in time to see the man's axe fall from his hands and his head fall from his shoulders. On the white horse rode Bedivere with a bloody sword in her hand.

She leapt down from her horse and cut the straps that held Shirou's breastplate to his body. Feeling the pressure loosen on his chest he ripped it off and took a lung full of air.

"That... that was too close. I owe you my life." Shirou gasped as he stood up to face Bedivere.

"Are you hurt?" Bedivere asked with concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine now." Shirou asked as he removed his breastplate and threw it to the ground.

"It seems you will need some new armor." Bedivere said with a sigh.

The two of them didn't get much more time to talk before they were approached by several more soldiers. More of them were wearing fur capes than armor. Shirou thought they looked a lot like the huge guy Bedivere had just killed and were probably from the same group. He wondered if that guy was their leader.

"We finally get away from Twinhammer and look who we find." One of them grinned.

"They killed Axe Wolf! Let's get them!" Another one shouted.

Shirou glanced over at Bedivere. "Axe Wolf? Twinhammer? What kind of stupid names are those?"

Bedivere merely shrugged. "Bandits. Still, "Twinhammer? I've heard that name somewhere before..."

"There's an awful lot of them." Shirou muttered.

"Keep your guard up." Bedivere replied.

"FOR AXE WOLF!" The bandit men raised their swords and started their charge. It was unorganized and terrible but they were certainly trying.

From behind them Shirou saw two objects rise above the crowd of battle still waging around them. They looked like gigantic warhammers.

"I HAVE THE PRETTIEST DAUGHTERS IN THE KINGDOM SWIIIIIIIIIIING!" With a mighty war cry and gust of wind so strong it nearly knocking Shirou off his feet, a whirlwind came rumbling out of the crowd in front of them. In a tornado of blows and splattered blood trailed in his wake as the figure felled nearly ten enemy soldiers just by being in his way. He spun his way like a hurricane towards Shirou and Bedivere and claimed the lives of the bandits in an instant.

"YOU HEAR ME YOU FILTHY MILKDRINKERS!? YE'LL NOT GET ANOTHER STEP CLOSER TO MY HOME!" The tornado cried with a ferocity that seemed to make the ground quake.

"Don't tell me..." Shirou heaved a sigh.

When the tornado finally slowed down it was none other than Geoff standing in the middle of the destruction. He had a cut on his forehead that seemed to be dripping blood down the side of his face, but he didn't seem bothered by it at all.

Geoff noticed them soon after and heaved his two gigantic hammers up onto his shoulders with seemingly little effort.

"Gahahaha! Not dead yet I see. Good!" Geoff guffawed heartily.

"I would be if it hadn't been for Sir Bedivere." Shirou admitted.

"I heard Axe Wolf's name being mentioned so I headed over here." Geoff glanced down towards the ground to see the giant man's body. "Too bad. I had a score to settle with him. He robbed me once. Stole a lot of my wife's things." He frowned.

"We should rally to the King and receive orders." Bedivere suggested.

Shirou nods. "They haven't opened those huge boxes yet. I'm wondering what's in them."

The began to make their way across the field, the ground was rapidly becoming wet with blood and the smell of death was strong on the wind. Little could stand in their way as the three of them were able to cut down most enemy soldiers that approached them with relative ease.

The three of them came to the area where Arturia was and they stood in awe at what they saw. Galahad and a few of his men fought alongside the King and together they were able to fend off anyone that dared approach them. The King was a whirlwind on the battlefield, her shining sword felling anything that stood in front of it. They were still on their horses just like Bedivere was. It made Shirou lament the loss of his own.

Shirou called out to her and she turned to face him. "Shirou I am glad that you have rejoined us. I saw you fall from your horse and feared the worst."

"I'm eager to get back into the fight and put this to an end." Shirou answered.

"Good! We are going to make a push for those strange boxes as soon as Sir Tristan gets here." Galahad replied.

Bedivere nodded. "I saw Tristan and his archers when I was going back for Shirou. He should not be far behind."

Right on cue, Tristan and a few men behind him on horseback came walking calmly through the crowd. The enemy presence on this side of the field was drastically reduced, but not without great losses from the allied side as well.

"We cleaned up a little on the way here. The last of Mordred's men and the mercenaries on this side of the field are being washed away." Tristan announced.

"Good." Arturia nodded and then turned behind her to her men. "WE ARE CHARGING THE ENEMY'S POSITION, FORM A LINE!" She shouted.

"I'm heading back to the Legion. Stay alive, would ya kid?" Geoff patted Shirou on the shoulder and then left to join his squad.

"Same to you." Shirou called after him.

Behind him the soldiers had begun to form up lines around the King to prepare for another charge on the enemy's remaining forces on the other side of the field. Hopefully to satisfy Shirou's and the rest of the knight's curiosity regarding those huge wooden boxes.

On the other side of the field, Mordred's men was responding in kind by forming their lines to meet Arturia's. Shirou was ready to redeem himself from the disappointment of the initial charge of getting separated from the other knights and losing his horse.

It took a minute or so for the men to line up to prepare for the charge, but soon the King raised her sword and gave the order to charge again. Once again the great cry of war was uttered from the men, seeming to come from the very earth itself, threatening to deafen Shirou's ears. It was the final charge, with this, surely the enemy would be defeated and sent back home.

Arturia gave the order and the army began it's final charge, in that very instant several loud thuds were heard as the large wooden crates were opened, and the sides fell flat on the ground which could be heard even above the charge of the army. Deafening roars came from within the crates which made the hairs on the back of Shirou's neck stand on end.

Stepping out of the cage were giant hulks of men nearly two stories tall. There were at least five of them, each looking nearly identical from the next. Their faces were twisted and grotesque, noses crooked and broken, bloodshot eyes sunken in to their skulls, large protruding foreheads, and mouths gaping open to roar and reveal many missing teeth, the ones that did remain were misshapen and colored a sickly yellow. The rest of their bodies looked bloated and their bellies sagged greatly, their arms were the size of redwood trees and their fists the size of boulders. They wore little but scraps of cloth to cover themselves and were armed with various crude weapons ranging from crooked iron rods to large pieces of wood.

"What in God's name..." Galahad uttered with surprise.

"Cut them down! Quickly!" Arturia raised Excalibur into the air and ordered the army to continue the charge. "Sir Tristan, we need your archers on those creatures immediately!"

"As you command, my King! Archers! To me!" Tristan shouts and rallies his special team of archers to his side.

"Sir Bedivere, you have the left flank! Surround it with your cavalry!"

"By your will!" Bedivere purses her lips and whistles sharply and the cavalry turn to follow her.

"Shirou!" Arturia calls to him.

Shirou had been staring blankly at the creatures for the last few seconds, unable to speak from surprise. Never in his life had he seen anything like this. The realization that these things were real came crashing down on his head and in the corner of his mind he heard the King's voice calling his name.

"Shirou, get a hold on yourself! You must not be swayed from our goal, remember what we fight for!"

"Y-Yes! I'm sorry!" Shirou shouted a response after coming to his senses.

"Fight with the 7th Legion on the right flank." Arturia orders.

"I'm not sure about this..." Shirou looked up at the creatures as the army was growing ever closer towards them. He had no idea how he was to about it. Not yet anyway, maybe some of the Legion could help him, but he had little confidence. Shirou felt a metal gauntlet on his shoulder and turned to find Arturia looking down at him.

"I have faith in you, you can do it." She said warmly.

"Alright, fail or not, I have to try anyway." Shirou didn't know why she had so much faith in him. He hadn't done anything particularly impressive or even spent much time with Arturia for that matter. Be that as it may he had a task set before him, as terrified as he was to fight what he could only described as a giant. The Legion was indeed near the right flag as indicated by their banner flying above the heads of the rest of the army. The 7th Legion was largely infantry, so most of the soldiers were on foot.

Shirou found them quickly and was greeted first by Brom, their leader.

"We are to continue the charge towards that monster?" He asked.

"Yeah, we've been tasked with killing this one. Any ideas?" Shirou replied.

"There doesn't seem ta be enough time for a strategy meetin' laddie! Here he comes!" Geoff shouted from next to Brom.

With another terrifying roar the army collided with the rest of Modred's army as well as the giants. The giants waded into the army with seemingly no fear and swung their weapons in sweeping arcs in front of them. Multiple men were sent flying into the air with the force of the blow. Men were flung from horses and loud crashes were heard as shields were shattered.

"Judeau! Where's Judeau!?" Brom shouted as he jumped backwards from the blow of the giant. It missed Brom, but several men were flung away into the back lines.

"Right here, Sir!" Replies Judeau from Brom's left, slightly concealed by several other soldiers but he manages to push his way through them.

"I want this thing blinded, can you hit it's eyes?" Brom asked.

Judeau reached into his coat and pulled out several small knives. "I don't know, he's flailing around a lot but I'll try."

"I'll get 'im ta hold still!" Geoff shouted at charged at the giant while swinging his hammers wildly.

"What should I do?" Shirou asked.

"Distract it with Geoff. Try not to get yourself killed." Brom replied.

"Okay." Shirou nodded and ran off with Geoff, passing passed Judeau who was throwing small knives up at the giant but appeared to be missing because of the giant's attack pattern. The giants were attacking in much the same manner, taking large stomps forward and swinging their weapons in wide arcs with one hand. As Shirou looked towards the other giants to see how the other groups were doing, he spotted a giant using a horse as a weapon, swinging it wildly.

"What's your plan? I assume you had one since you volunteered." Shirou asks after catching up with Geoff.

"Plan? I dinnae have one." Geoff said with a roar as he charged up to the giant.

The giant notices Geoff and Shirou approaching rapidly and swings his weapon, a large piece of wood with a spike in the side that was already soaked with blood. Both of them ducked under the weapon and reached the giant.

With a loud cry Geoff swings both hammers simultaneously aiming specifically at the kneecap on the giant's left leg. They connect and Shirou heard a loud crack as the bone was shattered. The giant howled with pain and was forced to kneel.

Shirou followed Geoff's example and after tracing Arondight, swings for the giant's heel. Shirou felt his blade go deeply through the giant's flesh and cut through the muscle. Including the hamstring. The giant released another howl and was forced to both knees.

"That's it!" Judeau cried in excitement and threw two knives. Each of them hit their mark and once again the giant howled with pain and covered it's eyes with it's hands, blood dripping through it's fingers.

"Go boy! Finish him!" Geoff shouted at Shirou.

The giant bent over in great pain and Shirou was able to jump up onto the creature's knee. Stabbing Arondight into the thing's shoulder to help himself up onto the giants back Shirou ran over to where it's head met it's neck. His blood was on fire now. They had actually managed to do it with everyone's help. Shirou didn't think they stood a change, but with Brom's quick thinking and Geoff's insane strength, the creature was now wailing in pain. Shirou looked down at the swords in his hands, they were merely extensions of his arms and his training allowed him to use his arms with great efficiency. He was a warrior and now his enemy lay before him ready to be stricken down.

Shirou briefly remembered the words that came to him months ago and had never heard from them since. The words that made his hair stand on end and reverberated like magic in the air. All his experiences seemed to have formed the words in his head. Now, Shirou turned on his Magic Circuits and uttered the words allowed, as reflex seemed to tell him to do so.

"_I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body, and fire is my blood!_"

The second he finished his arms and legs seemed to be filled with great strength, beyond that which was granted to him by the magic blade Arondight. It flowed through his veins like water running down his body. Shirou jumped into the air, higher than he had ever been able to jump before. Raising his sword Shirou came down on the giant's neck and with one mighty stroke of Arondight cleaved through the monster's flesh and his head fell from his body.

A torrent of blood came pouring from the creature's open neck and the body slumps over on the ground in a cloud of dust. The back of the giant tilts into an angle and Shirou is forced to slide down and back to the ground to thunderous applause from the Legion.

"GAHAHA! THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE!" Geoff greeted Shirou and patted Shirou on the back, Geoff's strength nearly sending him to his knees.

Brom and Judeau came striding up to him next. Before they got close enough to talk, Shirou looked for the other giants and saw that they were being brought down in just about the same fashion. Tristan's group pinned their giant down with arrows, and the horseback archers rode around it in circles to confuse it while peppering it with arrows. Bedivere's cavalry did much the same thing, using their mobility to their advantage to rush in for quick strikes and then back off. Eventually they were able to subdue the giant and hack away at it's vital areas. Arturia's giant went down surprisingly quickly after a bright flash of golden light, and Galahad's was tripped up and brought down by Galahad driving his greatsword through the giant's head.

"That was sure something, Sir Shirou. A better death than that monster deserved." Brom said after glancing at the corpse of the creature on the ground.

"It seems they were defeated rather quickly." Judeau mentioned.

"The circumstances were in our favor. We had the King here as well as the other knights. The attack was superbly directed and coordinated." Brom mentioned.

"Aye, we also had this one's great strength. I dinnae think such a small boy would be able to pull of somethin' like that." Geoff said with a laugh.

"In any case, it seems the battle is just about over. We've driven off Modred's men off and killed his monsters." Shirou scratched the back of his head. "What you said is true though, they did seem to be defeated rather easily. It doesn't seem right. Nothing about this attack does."

"I agree. It was foolish of Morgana and Mordred to attack us here with such a small force of soldiers and mercenaries. Only time will tell what this attack meant, if anything. It could have been only a small force meant to test our capabilities." Brom replied while stroking his beard.

"I'm going to check in with everything else to see if I'm needed elsewhere. I want to know if they learned anything about these creatures while fighting them." Shirou waved off the 7th Legion. As he walked off he stopped and felt like he was forgetting something. Like something was missing during the fight.

"Gilbert! Where's Gilbert?" Shirou asked with concern. Had something happened to him in the battle?

"No need to worry, Gilbert was leading the men from the back." Brom reassured him.

Shirou sighed with relief. "Good." He replied before he left. Gilbert was actually one of the first members of the Legion that Shirou met. He and Gilbert seemed to get along rather well, it was a relief that he was still well.

"Oh, Shirou. I saw the end of your battle. It was a wonderful display of strength. You are to be commended." Arturia praised him as he approached.

"U-Uh, thanks. Do you know what they are?" Shirou asked.

"Not exactly, but I do know that they were once human and were somehow altered by large amounts of magical energy." She answered. "I would like to get Merlin to examine one."

"Should I go back and get him then? We can't exactly carry that thing all the way back to the castle." Shirou asked.

Arturia nodded. "Yes. Have Bedivere give you a ride back, I would like to resolve this quickly. I will return to the castle with you, little is left to do here besides pile the bodies and burn them downwind."

Bedivere and the other knights returned to the King's side and she filled them in on the situation. Bedivere helped Shirou up onto the back of her horse and soon her and Arturia were off back towards the castle.

As the adrenaline from the battle wore off, Shirou felt the fatigue all at once. His muscles ached and his head felt fuzzy. Not only was he tired from the battle itself, but he also projected Arondight twice and used that magic to strengthen his body for that last attack. Feeling it all at once, Shirou uttered a sigh without meaning to.

"You did well, for your first real battle." Bedivere said warmly.

"Do you really believe that?" Shirou asked.

"You are alive, are you not? Does that not count for something?" Said Arturia, reassuring him.

"I wouldn't be if you didn't send Bedivere after me after I fell from my horse. Which I'm also amazed that I survived unscathed. If he fell on me I would have died right there." Shirou admited.

Arturia looked surprised and tilted her head quizzically. "I did not send her. I was not even aware of it until she rushed off to your aid."

"... I merely saved a comrade in danger." Bedivere replied after an embarrassed pause. Over her shoulder Shirou could see that she was blushing.

"In that case, it seems I need to thank you for saving my life once again." Shirou said.

"You have also saved my life, you owe me nothing." Bedivere replied flatly after regaining her composure.

Watching her two knights, the King smiled warmly which seemed to shine brighter even than Excalibur.


End file.
